Images by Date
Images by Category
Solar System
Stars
Exoplanets
White Dwarfs
Supernovas
Neutron Stars
Black Holes
Milky Way Galaxy
Normal Galaxies
Quasars
Galaxy Clusters
Cosmology/Deep Field
Miscellaneous
Images by Interest
Space Scoop for Kids
4K JPG
Multiwavelength
Sky Map
Constellations
Photo Blog
Top Rated Images
Image Handouts
Desktops
Fits Files
Image Tutorials
Photo Album Tutorial
False Color
Cosmic Distance
Look-Back Time
Scale & Distance
Angular Measurement
Images & Processing
AVM/Metadata
Image Use Policy
Web Shortcuts
Chandra Blog
RSS Feed
Chronicle
Email Newsletter
News & Noteworthy
Image Use Policy
Questions & Answers
Glossary of Terms
Download Guide
Get Adobe Reader
More Images of Chandra Archive Collection
1
Click for large jpg Composite
Jpeg, Tif
Click for large jpg X-ray
Jpeg, Tif
Click for large jpg Optical
Jpeg, Tif

X-ray & Optical Images of Westerlund 2
A cluster of young stars — about one to two million years old — located about 20,000 light years from Earth. Data in visible light from the Hubble Space Telescope (green and blue) reveal thick clouds where the stars are forming. High-energy radiation in the form of X-rays, however, can penetrate this cosmic haze, and are detected by Chandra (purple).
(Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO/Sejong Univ./Hur et al; Optical: NASA/STScI)

Fast Facts for Westerlund 2:
Credit  X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO/Sejong Univ./Hur et al; Optical: NASA/STScI
Scale  Image is 7.5 arcmin across (about 44 light years)
Category  Normal Stars & Star Clusters
Coordinates (J2000)  RA 10h 23m 58.10s | Dec -57° 45' 49.0"
Constellation  Carina
Observation Dates  3 pointings: 23 Aug 2003, 5 Sep and 28 Sep 2006
Observation Time  24 hours 37 min (1 day 37 min)
Obs. IDs  3501, 6410, 6411
Instrument  ACIS
Also Known As Wd 2
References Hur, H. et al. 2015, MNRAS, 446, 3797; arXiv:1411.0879
Color Code  X-ray (Purple); Optical (Red, Green, Blue)
Distance Estimate  About 20,000 light years

2
Click for large jpg Composite
Jpeg, Tif
Click for large jpg X-ray
Jpeg, Tif
Click for large jpg Optical
Jpeg, Tif

X-ray & Optical Images of 3C31
X-rays from the radio galaxy 3C31 (blue), located 240 million light years from Earth, allow astronomers to probe the density, temperature, and pressure of this galaxy, long known to be a powerful emitter of radio waves. The Chandra data also reveal a jet blasting away from one side of the central galaxy, which also is known as NGC 383. Here, the Chandra X-ray image has been combined with Hubble's visible light data (yellow).
(Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/Univ. of Bristol/M.Hardcastle et al; Optical: NASA/STScI)

Fast Facts for 3C31:
Credit  X-ray: NASA/CXC/Univ. of Bristol/M.Hardcastle et al; Optical: NASA/STScI
Scale  Image is 24 arcsec across (about 28,000 light years)
Category  Quasars & Active Galaxies
Coordinates (J2000)  RA 01h 07m 24.90s | Dec +32° 24' 44.10"
Constellation  Pisces
Observation Dates  06 Nov 2011
Observation Time  12 hours 20 min
Obs. IDs  2147
Instrument  ACIS
References Hardcastle, M. et al, 2002, 334, 182; arXiv:astro-ph/0203374
Color Code  X-ray (Blue); Optical (Gold)
Distance Estimate  About 240 million light years

3
Click for large jpg Composite
Jpeg, Tif
Click for large jpg X-ray
Jpeg, Tif
Click for large jpg Optical
Jpeg, Tif
Click for large jpg Radio
Jpeg, Tif

X-ray, Optical & Radio Images of PSR J1509-5850
Pulsars were first discovered in 1967 and today astronomers know of over a thousand such objects. The pulsar, PSR J1509-5850, located about 12,000 light years from Earth and appearing as the bright white spot in the center of this image, has generated a long tail of X-ray emission trailing behind it, as seen in the lower part of the image. This pulsar has also generated an outflow of particles in approximately the opposite direction. In this image, X-rays detected by Chandra (blue) and radio emission (pink) have been overlaid on a visible light image from the Digitized Sky Survey of the field of view.
(Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/George Washington Univ./N.Klingler et al; Optical: DSS; Radio: CSIRO/ATNF/ATCA)

Fast Facts for PSR J1509-5850:
Credit  X-ray: NASA/CXC/George Washington Univ./N.Klingler et al; Optical: DSS; Radio: CSIRO/ATNF/ATCA
Scale  Image is 36 arcmin across (about 130 light years)
Category  Neutron Stars/X-ray Binaries
Coordinates (J2000)  RA 15h 09m 27.13s | Dec -58° 50' 56.11"
Constellation  Circinus
Observation Dates  4 pointings between 14 Jun 2013 and 23 Sep 2014
Observation Time  96 hours 27 min (4 days 19 hours 27 min)
Obs. IDs  14523-14526
Instrument  ACIS
References Klingler, N. et al, 2016, ApJ, 828, 70; ; arXiv:1601.07174
Color Code  X-ray (Blue); Optical (Cyan, Orange); Radio (Pink)
Distance Estimate  About 12,400 light years

4
Click for large jpg Composite
Jpeg, Tif
Click for large jpg X-ray
Jpeg, Tif
Click for large jpg Optical
Jpeg, Tif
Click for large jpg Radio
Jpeg, Tif

X-ray, Optical & Radio Images of Abell 665
Merging galaxy clusters can generate enormous shock waves, similar to cold fronts in weather on Earth. This system, known as Abell 665, has an extremely powerful shockwave, second only to the famous Bullet Cluster. Here, X-rays from Chandra (blue) show hot gas in the cluster. The bow wave shape of the shock is shown by the large white region near the center of the image. The Chandra image has been added to radio emission (purple) and visible light data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey showing galaxies and stars (white).
(Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/Univ. of Alabama/S.Dasadia et al, Radio: NSF/NRAO/VLA, Optical: SDSS)

Fast Facts for Abell 665:
Credit  X-ray: NASA/CXC/Univ. of Alabama/S.Dasadia et al, Radio: NSF/NRAO/VLA, Optical: SDSS
Scale  Image is 21 arcmin across (about 13 million light years)
Category  Groups & Clusters of Galaxies, Cosmology/Deep Fields/X-ray Background
Coordinates (J2000)  RA 08h 30m 58.10s | Dec +65º 50' 51.60"
Constellation  Ursa Major
Observation Dates  5 pointings between 1999 and 2011
Observation Time  34 hours 43 min (1 day 10 hours 43 min)
Obs. IDs  3586, 12286, 13201
Instrument  ACIS
References Dasadia, S. et al, 2016, ApJ, 820, 20; arXiv:1603.01271
Color Code  X-ray (Blue), Radio (Purple), Optical (Red, Green, Blue)
Distance Estimate  About 2.2 billion light years

5
Click for large jpg Composite
Jpeg, Tif
Click for large jpg X-ray
Jpeg, Tif
Click for large jpg Optical
Jpeg, Tif
Click for large jpg Radio
Jpeg, Tif
Click for large jpg Lensing Map
Jpeg, Tif

X-ray, Optical & Radio Images of RX J0603.3+4214 (Toothbrush Cluster)
The phenomenon of pareidolia is when people see familiar shapes in images. This galaxy cluster has invoked the nickname of the "Toothbrush Cluster" because of its resemblance to the dental tool. In fact, the stem of the brush is due to radio waves (green) while the diffuse emission where the toothpaste would go is produced by X-rays observed by Chandra (purple). Visible light data from the Subaru telescope show galaxies and stars (white) and a map from gravitational lensing (blue) shows the concentration of the mass, which is mostly (about 80%) dark matter.
(Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO/R. van Weeren et al; Radio: LOFAR/ASTRON; Optical: NAOJ/Subaru)

Fast Facts for RX J0603.3+4214:
Credit  X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO/R. van Weeren et al; Radio: LOFAR/ASTRON; Optical: NAOJ/Subaru
Scale  Image is 20 arcmin across (about 14.6 million light years)
Category  Groups & Clusters of Galaxies
Coordinates (J2000)  RA 06h 03m 16.80s | Dec +42° 13' 48.00"
Constellation  Aurigae
Observation Dates  Nov 25 & 28, 2013
Observation Time  52 hours 8 min (2 days 4 hours 8 min)
Obs. IDs  15171, 15172
Instrument  ACIS
References van Weeren et al. 2016, ApJ, 818, 204; arXiv:1601.06029
Color Code  X-ray (Purple); Radio (Green); Optical (Red, Green, Blue); Lensing Map (Blue)
Distance Estimate  About 2.7 billion light years (z=0.225)

6
Click for large jpg Composite
Jpeg, Tif
Click for large jpg X-ray
Jpeg, Tif
Click for large jpg Radio
Jpeg, Tif
Click for large jpg Infrared
Jpeg, Tif

X-ray, Radio & Infrared Images of CTB37A
Astronomers estimate that a supernova explosion should occur about every 50 years on average in the Milky Way galaxy. The object known as CTB 37A is a supernova remnant located in our Galaxy about 20,000 light years from Earth. This image shows that the debris field glowing in X-rays (blue) and radio waves (pink) may be expanding into a cooler cloud of gas and dust seen in infrared light (orange).
(Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/Morehead State Univ/T.Pannuti et al; Radio: Molonglo Obs. Synthesis Tel.; Infrared: NASA/JPL-Caltech)

Fast Facts for CTB37A:
Credit  X-ray: NASA/CXC/Morehead State Univ/T.Pannuti et al; Radio: Molonglo Obs. Synthesis Tel.; Infrared: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Scale  Image is 19 arcmin across (about 144 light years)
Category  Supernovas & Supernova Remnants
Coordinates (J2000)  RA 17h 14m 34.32s | Dec -38° 32' 56.40"
Constellation  Scorpius
Observation Dates  07 Oct 2006
Observation Time  5 hours 32 min
Obs. IDs  6721
Instrument  ACIS
References Pannuti, T. et al, 2014, AJ, 147, 55; arXiv:1312.3929
Color Code  X-ray (Blue); Radio (Pink); Infrared (Yellow)
Distance Estimate  About 26,000 light years




Return to Chandra Archive Collection (October 14, 2016)