Cassiopeia A - First Light Chandra Image (Image and Text Credit: NASA/CXC/SAO) This X-ray image of the Cassiopeia A (Cas A) supernova remnant is the official first light image of the Chandra X-ray Observatory. The 5,000 second image was made with the Advanced CCD Imaging Spectrometer (ACIS). Two shock waves are visible: a fast outer shock and a slower inner shock. The inner shock wave is believed to be due to the collision of the ejecta from the supernova explosion with a circumstellar shell of material, heating it to a temperature of ten million degrees. The outer shock wave is analogous to an awesome sonic boom resulting from this collision. The bright object near the center may be the long sought neutron star or black hole that remained after the explosion that produced Cas A. Chandra X-ray Observatory Click here for jpg version Search for an Image: (Enter the name of an object.) Additions or Comments: Have we left anything out? Is there something you would like to have added to this page (a link to your own group's research page, for example...)? IMAGES | By Mission | Stars | Cataclysmic Variables | X-ray Binaries | Pulsars | Supernova Remnants & Planetary Nebulae | Galaxies | Active Galactic Nuclei | Clusters and Groups of Galaxies | X-ray/gamma-ray Background & Deep Fields | Solar System Objects | Gamma Ray Bursts HEASARC Home | Observatories | Archive | Calibration | Software | Tools | Students/Teachers/Public Last modified: Thursday, 26-Jun-2003 13:48:44 EDT