Chandra's Sweet 16
The number 16 can be pretty special. For many people, their 16th birthday is cause for celebration: perhaps an opportunity to drive a car, a time to think about the next steps of education, or simply accumulating more knowledge and information about the world around them.
This summer, NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory celebrates its own "sweet 16." July 23rd marks Chandra's birthday, as it was launched aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia and then deployed into space on this day sixteen years ago. In August, Chandra will pass the 16th anniversary of another milestone in the mission – the release of the "First Light" images from the telescope (see Cassiopeia A below).
To mark these coming-of-age moments for Chandra, we've assembled some facts about where Chandra and the scientists who use this Great Observatory find themselves on this auspicious birthday. For example, do you know how far Chandra has traveled since its launch? Or how many scientific papers its data have produced? What about how many objects this extraordinary X-ray telescope has looked at?
Thanks to all of the amazing discoveries Chandra has made over its first 16 years in orbit and operations, this birthday does seem exceptionally sweet.