The Chandra X-Ray Observatory was launched early in the
morning of 1999, July 23 by the Space Shuttle Columbia. The
Shuttle launch was only the first step in placing NASA's
latest great observatory into orbit. After release from the
cargo bay, the Inertial Upper Stage performed two firings
and separated from the observatory as planned. Finally,
after five firings of Chandra's own Integral Propulsion
System - the last of which took place 15 days after the
initial launch - the observatory was placed in its highly
elliptical orbit of 140,000 km apogee and 10,000 km perigee.
After Observatory activation, the first x-rays focussed by
the telescope were observed on 1999, August 12. Beginning
with this initial observation one could conclude that the
telescope had survived the launch environment and was
operating as expected. The month following the opening of
the sunshade door was spent adjusting the focus for each set
of instrument configurations, determining the optical axis,
calibrating the star camera, establishing the relative
response functions, determining the energy scale(s), and
performing a series of "publicity" images. Each observation
proved to be far more revealing than was expected.
Preliminary results will be presented and the status of the
instrumentation on the observatory will be discussed.
[J8.002] Chandra Observatory Mirror Performance and Sample Galaxy Cluster Results
Leon VanSpeybroeck (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics)
This abstract not available.
[J8.003] Chandra High Resolution Camera - On-orbit Performance and Early GTO Results
Stephen S. Murray (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics)
The Chandra X-ray Observatory was launched into a High Earth Orbit on July 23, 1999 by the Space Shuttle Columbia. About a month later, on August 30-th the first High Resolution Camera (HRC) observations were taken through the telescope. During September and October the On-orbit Activation and Calibration Phase of the mission was mostly completed including a number of HRC observations that are publicly available in the CXO Archive. Following the OAC Phase the observatory has begun to carry out the Guaranteed Time and General Observer programs that were planned almost two years ago.
Examples from a wide variety of observations will be briefly presented to highlight some of the outstanding capabilities of Chandra and the quality of science that is being done. These will include: a summary of the in-flight performance of the HRC; a study of the pulsar PSR0540-69 demonstrating the time resolution of the camera; results from the nearby active galaxy Cen-A using the HRC and the ACIS; early discoveries from the monitoring campaign of Andromeda (M31); spectral analysis of the X-ray emission of the cluster of galaxies A3667; and more.
More detailed information about the Chandra X-ray Observatory can be found on the World Wide Web, as can more specific information about the High Resolution Camera and the HRC Team.
[J8.004] Observations of X-ray Sources with the Chandra X-ray Observatory
Gordon Garmire (Penn State University)
The Chandra X-ray Observatory (CXO) offers unprecedented
angular resolution and sensitivity compared to previous or
currently flying X-ray Missions. Results of a number of
observations conducted during the previous six months of
operation will be presented. Some of the observations
include very long exposures toward the Hubble Deep Field
North, the supernova remnants 1987A, RCW103, and N103B, the
Orion Nebula, the Galactic Center, M82 and a survey of low
luminosity Active Galactic Nuclei. This work is a
collaboration between scientists at Penn State University,
MIT and Caltech. The support for this endeavor comes from
NASA through contract NAS8-38252.
[J8.005] Description and Performance of the Low Energy Transmission Grating Spectrometer on-board Chandra
A.C. Brinkman (Space Research Organization of The Netherlands (SRON))
The Chandra spacecraft has been launched successfully on July 23, 1999. The payload consists of a high resolution X-ray telescope (HRMA), two imaging detector systems in the focal plane and two transmission gratings. Each one of the two gratings can be put in the beam behind the telescope and the grating spectrometers are optimized for high and low energy, respectively. The Low Energy Transmission Grating Spectrometer (LETGS) will be described and in-flight calibration measurements will be discussed. The LETGS consists of three parts, the high resolution telescope, the transmission grating array and the detector, to read-out the spectral image. The actual grating array consists of a toroidal shaped structure which carries 180 grating elements. Each grating element in turn contains three grating facets, with a diameter of 1.5cm. The grating facets have a density of 1000 lines per mm and are supported by a fine and course support structure. The grating bars and support structures are made of gold. The wavelength range covered by the LETGS runs from a few to 160 Angstrom (4-0.08 keV). The resolution Delta lambda = 0.06 Angstrom, resulting in a resolving power of 2000 at the longest wavelengths
[J8.006] First Results from the Chandra High Energy Transmission Grating Spectrometer
Claude Canizares (Massachusetts Institute of Technology Center for Space Research)
The High Energy Transmission Grating Spectrometer gives spectral resolving powers of up to 1000 over the energy range 0.4-8 keV. The HETGS consists of an array of periodic nanostructures of 2000 and 4000 angstrom period that works with the Chandra mirror and the ACIS detector. The instrument is performing as predicted prior to launch. Early results are being obtained on a variety of sources, demonstrating the power of high resolution spectroscopy to probe the physical and astrophysical properties of celestial objects. Examples will be presented, including plasma diagnostics of stellar coronae, spectrally resolved images of supernova remnants, diagnostics of relativistic outflow from a compact X-ray binary, and spectra of accreting black holes in active galactic nuclei.