Chandra Observatory

NASA

@chandraxray

Official Twitter account of NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory. Operated for NASA by Smithsonian (SAO). Verification: nasa.gov/socialmedia Legal: s.si.edu/legal

In orbit chandra.si.edu Joined January 2008

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Chandra Observatory @chandraxray Oct 28

Ghosted by the universe, just in time for Halloween!🎃 This eerie structure, combining data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory & @NASAWebb, is part of the Carina Nebula, located about 7,500 light years from Earth in our Milky Way galaxy. 👻s.si.edu/reaper

This is a composite image of a small portion of the Carina Nebula reveals a striking golden-orange cloud of gas and dust that loosely resembles a ghostly figure. Its glowing hooded head and a sweeping cape-like tail stretch through a star-filled background of rich blues, reds, and greens. Brilliant blue-white stars sparkle in the scene, while bright pink dots of X-ray light reveal young stars scattered across this eerie stellar nursery.

Chandra Observatory @chandraxray Oct 26

Remember that time when you spotted the remains of an exploded star that no one had identified before and Chandra followed up, revealing superheated debris? Together we helped scientists understand one of the youngest remnants in our galaxy, G306.3. We'll miss you, Swift!💜

This X-ray image of the supernova remnant G306.3-0.9 features a very small, bright purple object in the center of a dark and starry sky. The purple nebula has some bits of red and blue peeking through. It has a cartoon-like fish shape, poised as if swimming down into the water. It stands out from the surrounding stars due to its colors, brightness and contrast against the darker background. The image is roughly 20 arcminutes across, which corresponds to 150 light-years at the remnant's estimated distance of about 26,000 light-years.

NASA Universe Verified account @NASAUniverse Oct 26

Science operations for our Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory have now ended.

With the spacecraft orbiting less than 171 miles (275 kilometers) above Earth, atmospheric drag prevents the satellite’s telescopes from steadily gazing at their cosmic targets. 🧵

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Chandra Observatory @chandraxray Oct 14

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/tre…

A composite image of a remarkable radio wave formation that strongly resembles a treble clef musical symbol, hovering in the midst of two colliding galaxy clusters.

Here, galaxies in the galaxy clusters, plus foreground and background stars and galaxies, blanket the image with specks of light set against the blackness of space. At the center of the frame is a large, oval, blue-purple cloud with ragged edges.

In the middle of the purple field, tilting slightly to our left, is what appears to be a giant treble clef, loosely drawn with a neon pink marker. Like the musical notation for which it's named, the formation has a strong vertical stroke with a continuous, fluid line swooping back and forth as it moves from top to bottom.

Chandra Observatory @chandraxray Oct 8

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/swi…

NASA Universe Verified account @NASAUniverse Oct 8

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/swi…

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Chandra Observatory @chandraxray Sep 30

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