Chandra Release - January 13, 2000

Visual Description: Deep Field in Canes Venatici

This Chandra X-ray Observatory image of a region in the direction of the constellation Canes Venatici, close to the Big Dipper, shows about 3 dozen X-ray sources. The Chandra image comprises a black background with small white dots scattered across it, resembling a night sky filled with stars. Upon closer examination, these white dots can be identified as X-ray sources located within the constellation Canes Venatici.  In terms of textures, the image features a smooth, dark background that provides a contrasting backdrop for the bright white dots. These dots appear to be evenly distributed across the space, creating a pattern. However, upon closer inspection, one can notice that some of the dots are brighter than others, indicating varying levels of X-ray emissions. Some of the sources were too faint to be seen by optical telescopes such as the Hubble Space Telescope and the Keck 10 meter telescope in Hawaii. This new class of sources may represent some of the most distant objects ever detected. If this sample of the sky is typical, tens of millions of such sources must exist.