NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory has significantly expanded its cosmic archive, now featuring over 1.3 million X-ray detections. This milestone is part of the latest update to the Chandra Source Catalog (CSC), which includes data collected until the end of 2020. The CSC is a comprehensive resource for astronomers, providing crucial insights from one of NASA’s premier telescopes.
The updated catalog, referred to as CSC 2.1, contains more than 400,000 unique sources, both compact and extended. These observations offer detailed information, including the precise locations of X-ray emissions and the energy levels detected. Such data allows scientists to integrate findings from Chandra with observations made by other telescopes, including the James Webb and Hubble Space Telescopes.
Highlighting the Galactic Center
An illustrative example of the catalog’s richness is a new image showcasing the Galactic Center, the area surrounding the supermassive black hole known as Sagittarius A*. This image, which captures a region measuring approximately 60 light-years across, reveals over 3,300 individual X-ray sources. The image is a composite derived from 86 observations, totaling more than three million seconds of observation time.
In addition to visual imagery, the Chandra X-ray Observatory has released a sound representation of its data, known as sonification. This unique audio experience translates 22 years of Chandra observations into sound, showcasing the diverse X-ray emissions detected throughout its operational history. The sonification visually depicts the sky, with the core of the Milky Way at the center, while a year counter tracks the observatory’s milestones.
Continuing Discoveries
As Chandra remains fully operational, the catalog continues to grow. The latest updates reflect not only the depth of the data collected but also the ongoing contributions to astronomical research. Each detection in the catalog is represented by a circle in the sonification, with size indicating the frequency of observations in that area over time. The display transitions from the year 2021 to “… and beyond,” emphasizing that discoveries will continue as the observatory gathers more data.
Researchers and interested individuals can access the most recent version of the Chandra Source Catalog at the official site: https://cxc.cfa.harvard.edu/csc/. This extensive collection of X-ray data stands as a testament to the Chandra X-ray Observatory’s enduring legacy in the field of astronomy.
