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Recent discoveries and updates of the Chandra mission in video and audio formats.
The Truth and Lies about Black Holes (11-30-2007)
Black holes have a bad reputation. After all, something that could swallow you completely sounds pretty scary. They're invisible, so maybe there's one just around the corner and we dont know it! Also, arent they enormous vacuum cleaners capable of destroying anything that gets near them? Once the black hole starts pulling on something, isnt that just a one-way ticket to oblivion? Well, not all of these things are exactly true.
Black holes have a bad reputation. After all, something that could swallow you completely sounds pretty scary. They're invisible, so maybe there's one just around the corner and we dont know it! Also, arent they enormous vacuum cleaners capable of destroying anything that gets near them? Once the black hole starts pulling on something, isnt that just a one-way ticket to oblivion? Well, not all of these things are exactly true.
- Download Video (32.5 MB, Runtime: 5:00)
- With closed-captions (at YouTube)
- Listen to Audio Only
- Transcript
When Will History Repeat Itself? (10-31-2007)
Astronomers think that a supernova should go off in our own Milky Way galaxy every 50 years or so. When was the last one we've seen? Probably 1604. Yes, that's over 400 years ago. This being astronomy however, things will undoubtedly average out over the long run, but in the meantime, we're left without a recent supernova in our Galaxy to study. Luckily for us, astronomers from previous centuries were on the case.
- Related Links:
-- Blasts From The Past: Historic Supernovas
Astronomers think that a supernova should go off in our own Milky Way galaxy every 50 years or so. When was the last one we've seen? Probably 1604. Yes, that's over 400 years ago. This being astronomy however, things will undoubtedly average out over the long run, but in the meantime, we're left without a recent supernova in our Galaxy to study. Luckily for us, astronomers from previous centuries were on the case.
- Download Video (36.2 MB, Runtime: 5:34)
- With closed-captions (at YouTube)
- Listen to Audio Only
- Transcript
- Related Links:
-- Blasts From The Past: Historic Supernovas
In A Galaxy Far, Far Away and Also Those Nearby (09-28-2007)
"In a galaxy far, far away..." These are some of the most famous words in movie history. But what do we already know about galaxies, and what do astronomers, like those using the Chandra X- ray Observatory, still hope to learn about them?
- Related Links:
-- Normal Galaxies & Starburst Galaxies
-- Whirlpool Galaxy (M51): A Classic Beauty
-- Tour of M51
"In a galaxy far, far away..." These are some of the most famous words in movie history. But what do we already know about galaxies, and what do astronomers, like those using the Chandra X- ray Observatory, still hope to learn about them?
- Download Video (32.9 MB, Runtime: 5:03)
- With closed-captions (at YouTube)
- Listen to Audio Only
- Transcript
- Related Links:
-- Normal Galaxies & Starburst Galaxies
-- Whirlpool Galaxy (M51): A Classic Beauty
-- Tour of M51
From First Light to Eighth Anniversary (08-24-2007)
Chandra's launch aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia on July 23, 1999, was obviously a very important event. However, you might say it wasn't until about a month later that the Chandra mission really got started. In late August, after weeks of getting the spacecraft into the correct orbit and testing out various aspects of the satellite, Chandra was ready for its debut to the public. This was Chandra's First Light. Chandra's director, Dr. Harvey Tananbaum, explains the significance of that early image.
- Related Links:
-- Cassiopeia A
Chandra's launch aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia on July 23, 1999, was obviously a very important event. However, you might say it wasn't until about a month later that the Chandra mission really got started. In late August, after weeks of getting the spacecraft into the correct orbit and testing out various aspects of the satellite, Chandra was ready for its debut to the public. This was Chandra's First Light. Chandra's director, Dr. Harvey Tananbaum, explains the significance of that early image.
- Download Video (29.6 MB, Runtime: 4:21)
- With closed-captions (at YouTube)
- Listen to Audio Only
- Transcript
- Related Links:
-- Cassiopeia A
How It All Started (07-26-2007)
Just after midnight on July 23, 1999, the Space Shuttle Columbia launched in orbit with the heaviest payload ever carried by a shuttle. Its precious cargo was the Chandra X-ray Observatory, which has helped revolutionize our understanding of the Universe.
- Related Links:
-- STS-93 - Chandra Deployment Mission
Just after midnight on July 23, 1999, the Space Shuttle Columbia launched in orbit with the heaviest payload ever carried by a shuttle. Its precious cargo was the Chandra X-ray Observatory, which has helped revolutionize our understanding of the Universe.
- Download Video (30.8 MB, Runtime: 4:32)
- With closed-captions (at YouTube)
- Listen to Audio Only
- Transcript
- Related Links:
-- STS-93 - Chandra Deployment Mission
Revised: October 25, 2024
