NuSTAR Bringing the High Energy Universe into Focus

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showing 25 of 100 records on page 4 of 4

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Blazing Black Holes Spotted in Spiral Beauty

Observation • January 7, 2013

This new view of spiral galaxy IC 342, also known as Caldwell 5, includes data from NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array, or NuSTAR. The two magenta spots are blazing black holes first detected at lower-energy X-ray wavelengths by NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory. With NuSTAR's complementary data, astronomers can start to home in on the black holes' mysterious properties.

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X-ray Flare at the Center of the Milky Way

Observation • October 23, 2012

NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array, or NuSTAR, has captured these first, focused views of the supermassive black hole at the heart of our galaxy in high-energy X-ray light. This time series shows a flare caught by NuSTAR over an observing period of two days in July 2012.

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First Look at Milky Way's Monster in High-Energy X-ray Light

Observation • October 23, 2012

This is the first, focused high-energy X-ray view of the area surrounding the supermassive black hole, called Sagittarius A*, at the center of our galaxy. The image was taken by NASA's black-hole hunter, the Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array, or NuSTAR. Different X-ray energies have been assigned colors to make the composite images shown here.

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Pointing X-ray Eyes at our Resident Supermassive Black Hole

Collage • October 23, 2012

NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array, or NuSTAR, has captured these first, focused views of the supermassive black hole at the heart of our galaxy in high-energy X-ray light. The background image, taken in infrared light, shows the location of our Milky Way's humongous black hole, called Sagittarius A*, or Sgr A* for short.

First Light Poster

Photograph • June 28, 2012

This poster commemorates that event and was signed by the NuSTAR scientists working at University of California, Berkeley.

NuSTAR's First View of High-Energy X-ray Universe

Collage • June 28, 2012

NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array, or NuSTAR, has taken its first snapshots of the highest energy X-rays in the cosmos, the same kind used by doctors to take pictures of your bones. NuSTAR chose a black hole in the constellation Cygnus (shown on the left) as its first target due to its brightness.

The Calm Before the Launch

Photograph • June 13, 2012

All eyes are fixed in anticipation on the monitor showing the NuSTARs launch rocket under the belly of the L-1011 carrier plane.

Cheering for Success

Photograph • June 13, 2012

A packed auditorium at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) gives a thumps-up for the successful launch of NuSTAR.

Pre-launch Excitement

Photograph • June 13, 2012

Two of the youngest members of the extended NuSTAR team are posing in front of a to-scale model of the satellite, only minutes before launch.

Preparing the SOC for NuSTAR

Photograph • June 11, 2012

Member of the NuSTAR team at the California Institute of Technology put up a large decal on the wall of the Science Operation Center.

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Artist's Concept of NuSTAR

Artwork • May 1, 2012

Artist's concept of NuSTAR on orbit. NuSTAR has a 10-m (30') mast that deployed after launch to separate the optics modules from the detectors in the focal plane.

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Artist's Concept of NuSTAR

Artwork • May 1, 2012

Artist's concept of NuSTAR in orbit. NuSTAR has a 10-m (30') mast that was deployed after launch to separate the optics modules from the detectors in the focal plane.

Wrapping NuSTAR in Its Rocket Nose Cone

Photograph • January 27, 2012

An Orbital Sciences technician completes final checks of NuSTAR, inside the Orbital Sciences processing facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California before the Pegasus payload fairing is secured around it.

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Pegasus Rocket

Photograph • January 27, 2012

The payload transporter carrying the environmentally controlled shipping container enclosing NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array is parked in the airlock at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

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NuSTAR's Carrier Plane Touches Down

Photograph • January 27, 2012

The Pegasus rocket carrying NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array can be seen at the belly of its carrier plane, the "Stargazer," as it lands on Kwajalein Atoll.

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NuSTAR Unboxing

Photograph • January 27, 2012

In the airlock at Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB) in California, a lifting fixture is employed to hoist NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array from its shipping container. NuSTAR was integrated into its Pegaus launch rocket at VAFB.

NuSTAR Arrives at Vandenberg

Photograph • January 27, 2012

NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array, enclosed in an environmentally controlled shipping container, is trucked by trailer to processing facility 1555 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

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NuSTAR Unloading

Photograph • January 27, 2012

In the airlock of processing facility 1555 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, workers secure NuSTAR onto a handling dolly.

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NuSTAR at OSC

Photograph • January 1, 2012

The integrated NuSTAR observatory, including the instrument and spacecraft, at Orbital Sciences Corporation in Dulles, Virginia in January 2012.

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NuSTAR at OSC

Photograph • June 29, 2011

The integrated NuSTAR observatory, including the instrument and spacecraft, at Orbital Sciences Corporation in Dulles, Virginia on June 29, 2011.

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Final Pre-Launch Mast Deployment

Photograph • December 1, 2010

The final pre-launch deployment of the NuSTAR articulated mast occurred on in late 2010.

Assembly of First Optics Module

Photograph • May 16, 2010

Assembly of the first NuSTAR optics module (FM0). NuSTAR flies two optics units, each with 133 layers of grazing incidence optics.

Slumped-Glass Optics

Photograph • August 1, 2009

The NuSTAR glass optics are being shaped at the Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) mirror development lab, led by Will Zhang.

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Slumped-Glass Optics

Photograph • August 1, 2009

Niko Stergiou, a contractor at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, helped manufacture the 9,000 mirror segments that make up the optics unit in the NuSTAR mission.

Mast Deployment Test on the Ground

Photograph • August 1, 2009

Essential to the NuSTAR design is a deployable mast which extended to 10 meters (30 feet) after launch. This mast separates the NuSTAR X-ray optics from the detectors, a necessity to achieve the long focal length required by the optics design.

showing 25 of 100 records on page 4 of 4

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The Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array science operations center is located on the campus of the California Institute of Technology