Recent discoveries and updates of the Chandra mission in video and audio formats.
Chandra in the (Google) Sky (01-29-2008)
Astronomy is truly in a golden age. With a fleet of space-based observatories, including the Chandra X-ray Observatory, astronomers now have a suite of amazing tools to study the Universe. Simultaneously to this bonanza in astronomy has been the growth and expansion of the Internet. Think back to before 1990. The Internet was barely a rumor and there were no Great Observatories! But now people are taking advantage of these two seemingly separate advances to do some amazing things
Astronomy is truly in a golden age. With a fleet of space-based observatories, including the Chandra X-ray Observatory, astronomers now have a suite of amazing tools to study the Universe. Simultaneously to this bonanza in astronomy has been the growth and expansion of the Internet. Think back to before 1990. The Internet was barely a rumor and there were no Great Observatories! But now people are taking advantage of these two seemingly separate advances to do some amazing things
- Dowload Video Podcast (20.7 MB, Runtime: 4:27)
- Listen to Audio Only
- Transcript
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.
- Dowload Video Podcast (29.6 MB, Runtime: 4:21)
- 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.
- Dowload Video Podcast (30.8 MB, Runtime: 4:32)
- Listen to Audio Only
- Transcript
- Related Links:
-- STS-93 - Chandra Deployment Mission
Putting Chandra In Its Place (07-27-2006)
How the Chandra X-ray Observatory fits into the modern astronomer's toolkit. Chandra is one of NASA's "Great Observatories". The Great Observatories were four missions selected by NASA to explore different types of radiation and really tackle the biggest questions in astronomy.
How the Chandra X-ray Observatory fits into the modern astronomer's toolkit. Chandra is one of NASA's "Great Observatories". The Great Observatories were four missions selected by NASA to explore different types of radiation and really tackle the biggest questions in astronomy.
- Dowload Video Podcast (17.4 MB, Runtime: 3:45)
- Listen to Audio Only
- Transcript
Chandra, Not Your Backyard Telescope (06-09-2006)
X-ray telescopes like Chandra are not like the telescopes you find in backyards or at the local observatory. In addition to being above the Earth's atmosphere, they need to have special mirrors to detect the X-rays that pass through most objects.
X-ray telescopes like Chandra are not like the telescopes you find in backyards or at the local observatory. In addition to being above the Earth's atmosphere, they need to have special mirrors to detect the X-rays that pass through most objects.
- Dowload Video Podcast (28.5 MB, Runtime: 5:48)
- Listen to Audio Only
- Transcript





