The Beautiful Universe: Chandra in HD

This new trio of sonifications represents different aspects of black holes.

Astronomers have discovered a black hole has torn apart a star in a surprising location.

Astronomers have discovered a likely explanation for a fracture in a huge cosmic "bone" in the Milky Way galaxy, using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and radio telescopes.

New three-dimensional (3D) models of objects in space have been released by NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory. These 3D models allow people to explore – and print – examples of stars in the early and end stages of their lives.

People often think about archaeology happening deep in jungles or inside ancient pyramids. However, a team of astronomers has shown that they can use stars and the remains they leave behind to conduct a special kind of archaeology in space.

After tracking a puzzling X-ray signal from a dying star for decades, astronomers may have finally explained its source: the old star might have destroyed a nearby planet.

A bouquet of thousands of stars in bloom has arrived. This composite image contains the deepest X-ray image ever made of the spectacular star forming region called 30 Doradus.

Astronomers have taken a crucial step in showing that the most massive black holes in the universe can create their own meals.

Planets around other stars need to be prepared for extreme weather conditions, according to a new study from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and ESA's XMM-Newton that examined the effects of X-rays on potential planets around the most common type of stars.

Since antiquity, wreaths have symbolized the cycle of life, death, and rebirth. It is fitting then that one of the best places for astronomers to learn more about the stellar lifecycle resembles a giant holiday wreath itself.

Astronomers have found an unusual mark from a giant black hole's powerful jet striking an unidentified object in its path.

Normally found only in heavy metal bands or certain post-apocalyptic films, a "flame-throwing guitar" has now been spotted moving through space. Astronomers have captured movies of this extreme cosmic object using NASA's Chandra and Hubble.

Astronomers used Chandra, in combination with ultraviolet, optical and infrared data, to show where some of the most treacherous places in a star cluster may be, where planets' chances to form are diminished.

A massive black hole has torn apart one star and is now using that stellar wreckage to pummel another star or smaller black hole that used to be in the clear.

A galaxy has streams of superheated gas crossing one another. This result shows that "crossing the streams" does not necessarily end in disaster. In fact, it may lead to the creation of new structures.

Sonifications of three images have been released to mark the 25th anniversary of Chandra's "First Light" image.

A team of researchers have made important headway in understanding how — and when — a supermassive black hole obtains and then consumes material.

To celebrate the 25th anniversary of its launch, NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory is releasing 25 never-before-seen views of a wide range of cosmic objects.

It's time to take a cosmic road trip using light as the highway and visit four stunning destinations across space. The vehicles for this space get-away are NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and James Webb Space Telescope.

A new study using NASA's Chandra and ESA's XMM-Newton reveals that the interiors of neutron stars may contain a type of ultra-dense matter not found anywhere else in the Universe.

A study with Chandra and XMM-Newton indicates which stars near our Sun could have habitable exoplanets around them based on whether they receive lethal radiation from the stars they orbit.

Westerlund 1 is the biggest and closest "super" star cluster to Earth. New data is helping astronomers delve deeper into this galactic factory where stars are vigorously being produced.

Astronomers studied 16 supermassive black holes that are firing powerful beams, or jets, into space. They found that about a third of these have changed directions by large amounts.

Eruptions from the supermassive black hole Sagittarius A* may have created an exhaust vent attached to a "chimney" of hot gas blowing away from the center of our Milky Way galaxy.

New movies of two of the most famous objects in the sky — the Crab Nebula and Cassiopeia A — include X-ray data collected by Chandra over about two decades. They show dramatic changes in the remains of two massive stars in our galaxy.

A new project provides special 3D experiences on Instagram using data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and other telescopes through augmented reality (AR), allowing users to travel virtually through objects in space.

A brilliant supermassive black hole is not living up to expectations. Although responsible for high levels of radiation and powerful jets, this giant black hole is not as influential as many of its counterparts in other galaxies.

Three new sonifications of images from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory have been released in conjunction with a new documentary about the project that makes its debut on the NASA+ streaming platform.

Astronomers have discovered one of the most powerful eruptions from a black hole ever recorded. This mega-explosion may help explain the formation of a striking pattern of star clusters around two massive galaxies, resembling "beads on a string."

The supermassive black hole in the center of the Milky Way is spinning so quickly it is warping the spacetime surrounding it into a shape that looks like an American football.

For the first time scientists have combined the powers of NASA's Chandra & Webb Space Telescopes to study the famous supernova remnant Cassiopeia A, helping to solve the mystery behind the remnant's "Green Monster".

These four images represent a sample of galaxy clusters that are part of the largest and most complete study to learn what triggers stars to form in the universe's biggest galaxies.

A group of dead stars known as "spider pulsars" are obliterating companion stars within their reach.

Astronomers found the most distant black hole ever detected in X-rays using the Chandra and Webb telescopes.

Chandra's data of MSH 15-52 have been combined with data from NASA's newest X-ray telescope, IXPE to unveil the magnetic field "bones" of this remarkable structure.

Using snapshots taken over 20 years with NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, astronomers have learned important new details about an eruption from Eta Carinae witnessed on Earth in the mid-19th century.

A new collection of stunning images highlights data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and other telescopes.

Astronomers using NASA's Chandra, ESA's XMM-Newton, and other telescopes have determined that a giant black hole has destroyed a large star and strewn its contents into space.

Astronomers have discovered the most distant galaxy cluster with an important quality — providing insight into how these gigantic structures formed and why the universe looks like it does in the present day.

Three new 'sonifications' of NASA data have been released: R Aquarii, Stephan's Quintet, and M10.

The NGC 4839 group of galaxies is plunging into the Coma galaxy cluster and leaving behind an extraordinary tail of superheated gas.

Four composite images deliver dazzling views from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and James Webb Space Telescope of two galaxies, a nebula, and a star cluster.

With a single letter seemingly etched in the X-ray glow around it, a giant black hole at the center of a massive elliptical galaxy is making a mark on its surroundings.

Astronomers have identified a new threat to life on planets like Earth: a phase during which intense X-rays from exploded stars can affect planets over 100 light-years away.

Data from Chandra show the effects of powerful winds launched from the center of a nearby galaxy.

A distant – and lonely – galaxy appears to have pulled in and assimilated all of its former companion galaxies.

A new study using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory has tracked two pairs of supermassive black holes in dwarf galaxies on collision courses.

Astronomers have captured a spectacular, ongoing collision between at least three galaxy clusters. Data from Chandra, XMM-Newton, and a trio of radio telescopes are helping astronomers sort out what is happening in this jumbled scene.

A new survey using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory has uncovered hundreds of previously "hidden" black holes.

A new study provides insight into how X-rays from stars like our Sun, but billions of years younger, could partially or completely evaporate the atmospheres of planets orbiting them.

A study of RCW 36 shows that stars in a cluster can limit how many new stars form when the biggest and brightest members expel most of the gas from the system, thus drastically slowing down star birth.