CXC Home | Search | Help | Image Use Policy | Latest Images | Privacy | Accessibility | Glossary | Q&A
** NOTE ON ALL ANIMATED GIFS PROVIDED BELOW: Please be aware that flashing areas larger than 21,824 square pixels can trigger seizures in people with photosensitive seizure disorders like photosensitive epilepsy.**
1. Crab Nebula Timelapse (2002)
The dynamic rings, wisps and jets around the pulsar in the Crab Nebula as observed in X-ray light by Chandra.
The dynamic rings, wisps and jets around the pulsar in the Crab Nebula as observed in X-ray light by Chandra.
More information:
Learn About SNR
Photo Album
Learn About SNR
Photo Album
2. Tycho's Supernova Remnant
A supernova remnant located about 10,000 light years from Earth.
A supernova remnant located about 10,000 light years from Earth.
More information:
Supernovas & Supernova Remnants
Photo Album
Supernovas & Supernova Remnants
Photo Album
3. Pictor A
A giant jet spanning continuously for over 300,000 light years is seen blasting out of the galaxy Pictor A.
A giant jet spanning continuously for over 300,000 light years is seen blasting out of the galaxy Pictor A.
More information:
Quasars & Active Galaxies
Photo Album
Quasars & Active Galaxies
Photo Album
4. Vela Pulsar Jet
Much like an untended firehose, the jet bends and whips about spectacularly at half the speed of light. Bright blobs move in the jet at similar speeds.
Much like an untended firehose, the jet bends and whips about spectacularly at half the speed of light. Bright blobs move in the jet at similar speeds.
More information:
Neutron Stars/X-ray Binaries
Photo Album
Neutron Stars/X-ray Binaries
Photo Album
5. Time-lapse of Cassiopeia A
This velocity is explained by a special type of energy loss by the blast wave.
This velocity is explained by a special type of energy loss by the blast wave.
More information:
Learn About SNR
Photo Album
Learn About SNR
Photo Album
6. Time-lapse of Crab Nebula
The dynamic rings, wisps and jets around the pulsar in the Crab Nebula as observed in X-ray light by Chandra.
The dynamic rings, wisps and jets around the pulsar in the Crab Nebula as observed in X-ray light by Chandra.
More information:
Learn About SNR
Photo Album
Learn About SNR
Photo Album
7. Cassiopeia A: Chandra 3-color X-ray
This 3-color version of the Chandra First Light data displays a wealth of detail and drama.
This 3-color version of the Chandra First Light data displays a wealth of detail and drama.
More information:
Learn About SNR
Photo Album
Learn About SNR
Photo Album
8. G299.2-2.9
This debris field, which glows brightly in X-rays, was left over when a star exploded about 4,500 years ago.
This debris field, which glows brightly in X-rays, was left over when a star exploded about 4,500 years ago.
More information:
Learn About SNR
Photo Album
Learn About SNR
Photo Album
9. M51
This galaxy, nicknamed the "Whirlpool," is a spiral galaxy, like our Milky Way, located about 30 million light years from Earth.
This galaxy, nicknamed the "Whirlpool," is a spiral galaxy, like our Milky Way, located about 30 million light years from Earth.
More information:
Learn About Galaxies
Photo Album
Learn About Galaxies
Photo Album
10. Crab Nebula
These images of the Crab Nebula show how extremely dense, rapidly rotating neutron stars produced when a massive star explodes can create clouds of high-energy particles light years across that glow brightly in X-rays.
These images of the Crab Nebula show how extremely dense, rapidly rotating neutron stars produced when a massive star explodes can create clouds of high-energy particles light years across that glow brightly in X-rays.
More information:
Neutron Stars/X-ray Binaries
Photo Album
Neutron Stars/X-ray Binaries
Photo Album
11. Hercules A
Some galaxies have extremely bright cores, suggesting that they contain a supermassive black hole that is pulling in matter at a prodigious rate. Astronomers call these "active galaxies," and Hercules A is one of them.
Some galaxies have extremely bright cores, suggesting that they contain a supermassive black hole that is pulling in matter at a prodigious rate. Astronomers call these "active galaxies," and Hercules A is one of them.
More information:
Quasars & Active Galaxies
Photo Album
Quasars & Active Galaxies
Photo Album
12. Black Holes
Black Holes (def.): A dense, compact object whose gravitational pull is so strong that - within a certain distance of it - nothing can escape, not even light.
Black Holes (def.): A dense, compact object whose gravitational pull is so strong that - within a certain distance of it - nothing can escape, not even light.
More information:
Learn About Black Holes
Photo Album
Learn About Black Holes
Photo Album
13. Supernovas
Supernova (def.): Explosive death of a star, caused by the sudden onset of nuclear burning in a white dwarf star, or gravitational collapse of the core of massive star followed by a shock wave that disrupts the star.
Supernova (def.): Explosive death of a star, caused by the sudden onset of nuclear burning in a white dwarf star, or gravitational collapse of the core of massive star followed by a shock wave that disrupts the star.
More information:
Learn About SNR
Photo Album
Learn About SNR
Photo Album
14. Cas A: Supernova Remnant in 3D
This visualization of Cassiopeia A shows that there are two main components to this supernova remnant: a spherical component in the outer parts of the remnant and a flattened (disk-like) component in the inner region.
This visualization of Cassiopeia A shows that there are two main components to this supernova remnant: a spherical component in the outer parts of the remnant and a flattened (disk-like) component in the inner region.
More information:
Learn About SNR
Photo Album
Learn About SNR
Photo Album
15. SN 2006gy: An Exploding Star
The extremely massive star shed some of its outer layers in a large eruption prior to its violent collapse. The explosion then plows into the expelled cooler gas, creating a brilliant light show.
The extremely massive star shed some of its outer layers in a large eruption prior to its violent collapse. The explosion then plows into the expelled cooler gas, creating a brilliant light show.
More information:
Learn About SNR
Photo Album
Learn About SNR
Photo Album
16. Black Hole Merger
This gif shows a merger of two galaxies that forms a single galaxy with two centrally located supermassive black holes surrounded by disks of hot gas. The black holes orbit each other for hundreds of millions of years before they merge to form a single supermassive black hole that sends out intense gravitational waves.
This gif shows a merger of two galaxies that forms a single galaxy with two centrally located supermassive black holes surrounded by disks of hot gas. The black holes orbit each other for hundreds of millions of years before they merge to form a single supermassive black hole that sends out intense gravitational waves.
More information:
Learn About Black Holes
Photo Album
Learn About Black Holes
Photo Album
17. Chandra Spacecraft
On July 23, 1999, the Chandra X-ray Observatory was launched into orbit aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia. Chandra is one of NASA's four "Great Observatories," along with the Hubble Space Telescope, the Spitzer Space Telescope, and the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory.
On July 23, 1999, the Chandra X-ray Observatory was launched into orbit aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia. Chandra is one of NASA's four "Great Observatories," along with the Hubble Space Telescope, the Spitzer Space Telescope, and the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory.
More information:
Learn About Chandra
Photo Album
Learn About Chandra
Photo Album
18. Astronomy fact #1
There is a supermassive black hole in the center of our very own Milky Way Galaxy. It is called Sagittarius A* and it is 26,000 light years away from Earth.
PDF
There is a supermassive black hole in the center of our very own Milky Way Galaxy. It is called Sagittarius A* and it is 26,000 light years away from Earth.
More information:
Learn About the Milky Way
Photo Album
Learn About the Milky Way
Photo Album
19. Astronomy fact #2
If a baseball were made of neutron star material it would weigh about 20 trillion kg, or about 40 times the estimated weight of the entire human population.
PDF
If a baseball were made of neutron star material it would weigh about 20 trillion kg, or about 40 times the estimated weight of the entire human population.
More information:
Neutron Stars/X-ray Binaries
Photo Album
Neutron Stars/X-ray Binaries
Photo Album
20. Astronomy fact #3
Depending on its size, when a star dies it can explode in a supernova which may temporarily outshine everything else in the galaxy it resides.
PDF
Depending on its size, when a star dies it can explode in a supernova which may temporarily outshine everything else in the galaxy it resides.
More information:
Learn About Supernovas & Supernova Remnants
Photo Album
Learn About Supernovas & Supernova Remnants
Photo Album
21. Astronomy fact #4
A quasar radiates so much energy that if it was only the size of a flashlight it would produce as much light as all the houses and businesses in the entire Los Angeles basin!
PDF
A quasar radiates so much energy that if it was only the size of a flashlight it would produce as much light as all the houses and businesses in the entire Los Angeles basin!
More information:
Quasars & Active Galaxies
Photo Album
Quasars & Active Galaxies
Photo Album
22. Astronomy fact #5
Planetary nebulas have nothing to do with planets! They are dying stars that looked like planets when viewed through the small telescope of the past.
PDF
Planetary nebulas have nothing to do with planets! They are dying stars that looked like planets when viewed through the small telescope of the past.
More information:
White Dwarfs & Planetary Nebulas
Photo Album
White Dwarfs & Planetary Nebulas
Photo Album
23. Astronomy fact #6
In the future our Sun will become a white dwarf and be one/millionth its current size!
PDF
In the future our Sun will become a white dwarf and be one/millionth its current size!
More information:
Solar System
Photo Album
Solar System
Photo Album
24. Astronomy fact #7
Brown dwarfs weren't discovered until 1995 because they were so faint, but it is now estimated that in the Milky Way there are just as many as normal stars.
PDF
Brown dwarfs weren't discovered until 1995 because they were so faint, but it is now estimated that in the Milky Way there are just as many as normal stars.
More information:
Brown Dwarfs
Photo Album
Brown Dwarfs
Photo Album
25. Astronomy fact #8
More than one thousand Earths can fit inside Jupiter. Impressive until you realize more than one MILLION Earths could fit inside the Sun.
PDF
More than one thousand Earths can fit inside Jupiter. Impressive until you realize more than one MILLION Earths could fit inside the Sun.
More information:
Learn About the Solar System
Photo Album
Learn About the Solar System
Photo Album
26. Astronomy fact #9
It is thought that the galaxy cluster Perseus is emanating sound waves in the note of B flat, 57 octaves below middle-C which is a million billion times deeper than the limits of human hearing.
PDF
It is thought that the galaxy cluster Perseus is emanating sound waves in the note of B flat, 57 octaves below middle-C which is a million billion times deeper than the limits of human hearing.
More information:
Groups & Clusters of Galaxies
Photo Album
Groups & Clusters of Galaxies
Photo Album
27. Astronomy fact #10
In billions of years, when our Milky Way galaxy collides with the Andromeda galaxy, it is unlikely that any stars will collide because they are all so far apart from each other.
PDF
In billions of years, when our Milky Way galaxy collides with the Andromeda galaxy, it is unlikely that any stars will collide because they are all so far apart from each other.
More information:
The Milky Way
Photo Album
The Milky Way
Photo Album
28. Astronomy fact #11
The electrical power required to operate NASA's premier X-ray telescope, the Chandra X-ray Observatory, is about the same power a hair dryer uses.
PDF
The electrical power required to operate NASA's premier X-ray telescope, the Chandra X-ray Observatory, is about the same power a hair dryer uses.
More information:
Learn About Chandra
Photo Album
Learn About Chandra
Photo Album
29. Astronomy fact #12
If the Sun suddenly turned into a black hole of the same mass (which it won't), Earth would continue to orbit it without being pulled in.
PDF
If the Sun suddenly turned into a black hole of the same mass (which it won't), Earth would continue to orbit it without being pulled in.
More information:
Learn About the Solar System
Photo Album
Learn About the Solar System
Photo Album
30. Astronomy fact #14
Starburst galaxies can form stars tens, even hundreds of times faster than normal galaxies.
PDF
Starburst galaxies can form stars tens, even hundreds of times faster than normal galaxies.
More information:
Learn About Galaxies
Photo Album
Learn About Galaxies
Photo Album
31. Astronomy fact #15
The first NASA mission commanded by a woman, Commander Eileen Collins, deployed the Chandra X-ray Observatory in 1999.
PDF
The first NASA mission commanded by a woman, Commander Eileen Collins, deployed the Chandra X-ray Observatory in 1999.
More information:
Learn About Chandra
Eileen Collins
Learn About Chandra
Eileen Collins
32. Astronomy fact #16
Massive young stars sometimes destroy the dusty discs of smaller stars, preventing planets from forming.
PDF
Massive young stars sometimes destroy the dusty discs of smaller stars, preventing planets from forming.
More information:
Stars & Stellar Evolution
Photo Album
Stars & Stellar Evolution
Photo Album
34. Astronomy fact #18
It would take light 650 years to travel from one end of the Tarantula Nebula to the other.
PDF
It would take light 650 years to travel from one end of the Tarantula Nebula to the other.
More information:
Young Stars and Star Clusters
Photo Album
Young Stars and Star Clusters
Photo Album
36. Astronomy fact #21
If a magnetar flew past Earth within 100,000 miles, its ultra-magnetic field would destroy the data on every credit card.
PDF
If a magnetar flew past Earth within 100,000 miles, its ultra-magnetic field would destroy the data on every credit card.
More information:
Neutron Stars/X-ray Binaries
Photo Album
Neutron Stars/X-ray Binaries
Photo Album
37. Astronomy fact #22
Light travels so fast that it could circle the Earth 7.5 times in 1 second.
PDF
Light travels so fast that it could circle the Earth 7.5 times in 1 second.
More information:
Learn About Light
LIGHT: Beyond the Bulb
Learn About Light
LIGHT: Beyond the Bulb
38. Astronomy fact #23
It would take light about 8 million years to get across the galaxy cluster El Gordo.
PDF
It would take light about 8 million years to get across the galaxy cluster El Gordo.
More information:
Learn About Galaxy Clusters
Photo Album
Learn About Galaxy Clusters
Photo Album
39. Astronomy fact #24
Dr. Belinda Wilkes is the first female Director of a NASA Great Observatory.
PDF
Dr. Belinda Wilkes is the first female Director of a NASA Great Observatory.
More information:
Dr. Belinda Wilkes
Women in the High Energy Universe
Dr. Belinda Wilkes
Women in the High Energy Universe
40. Astronomy fact #25
What makes up 96% of our Universe is a mystery astronomers are trying to solve.
PDF
What makes up 96% of our Universe is a mystery astronomers are trying to solve.
More information:
Dark Matter
Dark Energy
Dark Matter
Dark Energy
41. Astronomy fact #26
In 1572 through 1574, Tycho's Supernova was so bright that it was visible during the day!
PDF
In 1572 through 1574, Tycho's Supernova was so bright that it was visible during the day!
More information:
Supernovas & Supernova Remnants
Photo Album
Supernovas & Supernova Remnants
Photo Album
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 USA
Phone: 617.496.7941 Fax: 617.495.7356
60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 USA
Phone: 617.496.7941 Fax: 617.495.7356
Operated for NASA by SAO
This site was developed with funding from NASA under Contract NAS8-03060.
This site was developed with funding from NASA under Contract NAS8-03060.
Revised: August 24, 2017