Abstract:

The Chandra X-ray Observatory is the third of NASA's four Great Observatories intended to span the electro-magnetic spectrum, following the Hubble Space Telescope and the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory and to be joined in approximately one year by the Space Infra-Red Telescope Facility. Chandra was launched in July 1999 and has been returning high resolution x-ray images and spectra from the start. This presentation will briefly summarize the technological features which underpin Chandra's increases in capability relative to previous x-ray telescopes. Most of the talk will present examples of the wide-ranging research underway with Chandra including studies of stellar coronae, supernova remnants, normal and active galaxies, and clusters of galaxies.