25 years ago X-ray astronomy was changed forever with the launch of the Chandra X-ray Observatory. Chandra is one of NASA's flagship Great Observatories (аlong with the Hubble Space Telescope and the James Webb Space Telescope) and provides us with the sharpest X-ray images ever taken of the cosmos. This talk will describe the harrowing Shuttle launch, feats of engineering that make Chandra possible, and some of the incredible images and scientific breakthroughs that Chandra has provided.
Melania (Mel) Nynka is an astrophysicist and MIT research scientist working for the Chandra X-ray Observatory. She obtained her Ph.D. from Columbia University, focusing her research on low luminosity supermassive black holes and pulsar wind nebulae in our Galactic Center. She enjoys helping astronomers around the world get the best data possible from Chandra to explore our universe.