Official Twitter account of NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory. Operated for NASA by Smithsonian (SAO). Verification: https://xitter.cf/t.co/oQRMjHqCRI Legal: https://xitter.cf/t.co/BUQNO29Sjg

In orbit
Joined January 2008
Scientists using Chandra have discovered that the origin of an unusual source of radio waves called the "Treble Clef" was likely an outburst from a supermassive black hole, followed by a collision of two galaxy clusters. 🎼More at: chandra.si.edu/photo/2026/tr…
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Chandra Observatory retweeted
The universe is creating quite the composition 🎼 Using @chandraxray, researchers discovered that a formation nicknamed the "Treble Clef" is likely caused by an outburst from a supermassive black hole, followed by a collision of two galaxy clusters! 🔗 go.nasa.gov/4sgpCus
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Chandra Observatory retweeted
NGC 1385 glows with regions where stars are forming. @ChandraXray data (magenta) highlights stellar nurseries and X-ray binaries, while Hubble's optical (white and gray) and @NASAWebb's infrared (orange and red) observations showcase the galaxy's dusty spiral structures.
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As @NASA's Swift Observatory nears its final days in orbit, we're taking the opportunity to celebrate the telescope and its place in NASA's fleet of eyes on the universe with 4 new images combining observations from Chandra, Swift, & others: chandra.si.edu/photo/2026/sw…
The universe is better with friends. As our Swift Observatory approaches the end of its mission, we’re celebrating its 21+ years in orbit — and the friends it's made — with some new galactic images. Check out this thread for more, or download yours here: chandra.si.edu/photo/2026/sw…
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Chandra Observatory retweeted
🎵 Twinkle, twinkle, little bat! How I wonder what you’re at! Up above the world you fly, Like a tea-tray in the sky. 🎵 Perhaps the Hatter spied this cosmic teacup, captured by @chandraxray (blue) and @NASAHubble (red and green)? More: chandra.si.edu/photo/2019/te… #MadHatterDay
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Let's face it: the center of our galaxy is a hot mess!🌡️ This new image gives us a cleaner look at our central district, including our 4‑million‑solar‑mass supermassive black hole, Sagittarius A*, and its closest supernova remnant, Sagittarius A East: s.si.edu/sgrae26
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⬆️Come for the science. ⬇️Stay for the beauty of space. 😊
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Chandra Observatory retweeted
Together, NASA's telescopes wear many hats – capturing different wavelengths of light and cosmic happenings. This group image of the Sombrero Galaxy shows how! ⬇️
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Chandra Observatory retweeted
The Perseus galaxy cluster makes us want to cozy up with a seasonal beverage. Captured by @ChandraXray, the enormous waves of gas making this cosmic latte art likely formed billions of years ago due to the flyby of a smaller galaxy cluster. More: go.nasa.gov/4y40Dwg
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Scientists have discovered a new class of objects using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory that are behaving unlike any seen before. These mysterious objects may help solve not one, but two long-standing questions in astrophysics. More: s.si.edu/hss
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Over 150 hours of Chandra observations compressed into 19 seconds. Explore how this timelapse of Centaurus A X-ray data was made at: chandra.si.edu/blog/node/970
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Welcome to space, @NASARoman! 🚀 So excited to have a new friend up here to help us solve the mysteries of the universe! 🙌🏼😁
The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope has officially launched and is heading to its forever home at L2! Over the next three months, the observatory will perform final checks and power its instruments before revealing its first images by early 2027. nasa.gov/Roman
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Starburst galaxies are galaxies that are undergoing incredibly high rates of star formation. NGC 1569 is one such galaxy — forming stars roughly 100 times faster than our own Milky Way Galaxy for the past 100 million years or so.
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Take in this new image of the barred spiral galaxy NGC 1672 from Chandra, @NASAHubble, and @NASAWebb. Studying barred spirals in action can help reveal how gas in our own Milky Way, which is also a barred spiral, feeds its central black hole and forms new stars.🌀
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Chandra Observatory retweeted
Paint with all the colors of the (stellar) wind 🎨 Data from @NASAHubble, @ChandraXray, and @NASAWebb combine to give us a vibrant look at the Tarantula Nebula. This star-forming region is 160,000 light-years away from Earth.
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Like a collage made of layered sheets of colored cellophane, a vibrant new image layers observations of the Tarantula Nebula from NASA's Chandra (blue), Hubble (green), and Webb (red). More: s.si.edu/tarantula26
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Chandra Observatory retweeted
🍲@chandraxray has found a black hole that may be stirring the "pot" in its neighborhood. Astronomers expected this galaxy, nicknamed the "red potato," to be producing many young stars, but the amount of star formation was relatively low. LEARN MORE >> chandra.si.edu/photo/2026/re…
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Today in 1999, @chandraxray was placed in orbit. It has been exploring our universe, detecting x-rays from hot, turbulent regions of space, ever since. Learn more on our AirSpace podcast: s.si.edu/44IAGGs
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Chandra Observatory retweeted
Check! ✔️ For the first time, scientists used our IXPE telescope to measure the magnetic field of a pulsar—a spinning neutron star—located in the Lighthouse Nebula. This data helps us understand the structure of these extreme cosmic objects. go.nasa.gov/4wVjsRt
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A black hole is stirring a "pot" of gas around a neighboring galaxy nicknamed the Red Potato. This churning, caused by a jet from the black hole, is mashing down new star formation. ⚫More: chandra.si.edu/photo/2026/re…
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Visual Description: Near the center of this composite image is a small, irregular, pale yellow oval with a red outer ring, in the heart of a bright, hazy red cloud. This is a galaxy nicknamed the “red potato” by astronomers studying this region of the early universe. Those astronomers expected the red potato to be producing scores of new stars. When they instead discovered relatively low star growth, they looked to a neighboring galaxy for reasons why. To our upper right of the red potato and its hazy red cloud of gas, is a neighboring galaxy in a pool of blue haze. This galaxy is also pale yellow in color, but has a less defined, less tuber-like shape than its counterpart. The blue pool represents X-rays from a growing supermassive black hole in the heart of the galaxy. The pool has a stubby tail, or X-ray jet, pointed toward the red cloud, and faint pockets of red and blue overlap within the image. Astronomers now believe that the X-ray jet from the neighboring supermassive black hole may have struck the red gas cloud around the red potato. This may be causing turbulence within the gas cloud, preventing the gas from falling onto the red potato. Without the ingredients from that gas, new stars struggle to grow.
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