An overview of the Chandra mission and goals, Chandra's namesake, top 10 facts.
Classroom activities, printable materials, interactive games & more.
Overview of X-ray Astronomy and X-ray sources: black holes to galaxy clusters.
All Chandra images released to the public listed by date & by category
Current Chandra press releases, status reports, interviews & biographies.
A collection of multimedia, illustrations & animations, a glossary, FAQ & more.
A collection of illustrations, animations and video.
Chandra discoveries in an audio/video format.
Chandra Zoom: Cygnus X-1

Zoom into the image of Cygnus X-1 and see all it's details up close and personal. Use the slider bar to zoom in close or zoom out and see the bigger picture.

Zoom into the image
Cygnus X-1
About a decade after its discovery in 1964, a combination of X-ray and optical observations led to the conclusion that Cygnus X-1 was a black hole - the first such identification. The Cygnus X-1 system consists of a black hole with a mass about 10 times that of the Sun in a close orbit with a blue supergiant star with a mass of about 20 Suns. Because of its brightness and close proximity, Cygnus X-1 continues to attract the interest of scientists seeking to understand the nature of black holes and how they affect their environment.

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