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Marshall scientists capture world's first focused 'hard' X-ray images of astronomical objects
An image of the Crab Nebula is one of the first two focused high-energy X-ray images of any astronomical object.

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An image of the Crab Nebula and pulsar is one of the first two focused high-energy X-ray images of any astronomical object. The two historic images were captured by a team from NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., on May 23, 2001, using a telescope containing unique X-ray mirrors.

PHOTO: NASA Marshall Center

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An image of the Crab Nebula is one of the first two focused high-energy X-ray images of any astronomical object.

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An image of the Cygnus X-1 binary star system is one of the first two focused high-energy X-ray images of any astronomical object. The two historic images were captured by a team from NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., on May 23, 2001, using a telescope containing unique X-ray mirrors.

PHOTO: NASA Marshall Center

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Dr. Brian Ramsey, lead scientist for the High Energy Replicated Optics (HERO) program, based at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., installs the mirrors that in May 2001 collected the world's first focused high-energy X-ray images of any astronomical object.

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Dr. Brian Ramsey, lead scientist for the High Energy Replicated Optics (HERO) program, based at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., installs the mirrors that in May 2001 collected the world's first focused high-energy X-ray images of any astronomical object. The telescope collected the images using six X-ray reflecting mirrors - three in each of the two assemblies. The Marshall-fabricated mirrors, a special type called "grazing incidence," are nested cylinders with extremely smooth inner surfaces that reflect high-energy X-rays at very shallow angles.

PHOTO: NASA Marshall Center

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Using a telescope launched by balloon, a team from NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., has obtained the world's first focused high-energy X-ray images of any astronomical object.

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Using a telescope launched by balloon, a team from NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., has obtained the world's first focused high-energy X-ray images of any astronomical object. The National Scientific Balloon Facility launched the experimental telescope for the High Energy Replicated Optics (HERO) team on May 23, 2001, from Fort Sumner, N.M. The 40 million cubic-foot (1.1 million cubic-meter) balloon carried the payload to an altitude of 128,000 feet (39,000 meters). At this altitude, the telescope is above 99.7 percent of Earth's atmosphere, which absorbs X-rays and many other wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation.

PHOTO: NASA Marshall Center

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Using a telescope launched by balloon, a team from NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., has obtained the world's first focused high-energy X-ray images of any astronomical object.

launch6.jpg

Using a telescope launched by balloon, a team from NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., has obtained the world's first focused high-energy X-ray images of any astronomical object. The National Scientific Balloon Facility launched the experimental telescope for the High Energy Replicated Optics (HERO) team on May 23, 2001, from Fort Sumner, N.M. After it was released from the launch vehicle, the 40 million cubic-foot (1.1 million cubic-meter) balloon carried the payload to an altitude of 128,000 feet (39,000 meters). At this altitude, the telescope is above 99.7 percent of Earth's atmosphere, which absorbs X-rays and many other wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation.

PHOTO: NASA Marshall Center

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[] Resolution   Format  Width
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[] Thumbnail JPG 100 100 72
[] Medium JPG 500 656 72
[] Large JPG 1024 1344 300
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