AXAF
The Advanced X-ray Astrophysics Facility. AXAF was renamed Chandra X-ray
Observatory,CXO,
and launched in July 1999.
The AXAF-I
mission will develop and place into orbit a telescope for capturing
high-resolution images and spectra of X-ray sources. Its imaging observations
will produce "picture-like" images analogous to those made in visible
light with an optical telescope. It uses optics and detectors which are sensitive
to X-rays to capture images of astronomical phenomena characterized by very
high temperatures. AXAF-I's capabilities in the area of X-ray spectroscopy will
complement its imaging function. Spectra, or spectrographs, reveal the
temperature and "chemical fingerprint" of an object by separating the
radiation received from it according to wavelength, much as a prism splits
visible light into constituent colors. AXAF-I will utilize the high resolution
of the AXAF mirrors to produce spectra at X-ray wavelengths of detailed
features within X- ray radiating objects.
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