A Window to the Universe is Shutting...

Is this the end of American x-ray space imaging? Neil deGrasse Tyson talks about the great space observatories, the new telescopes taking up the mantle, and the future of The Chandra X-ray Observatory.

Learn about Lyman Spitzer’s groundbreaking idea to put observatories in space to better view the cosmos. Neil walks us through the great space telescopes: Hubble, Spitzer, Compton, and Chandra. He breaks down the Hubble Space Telescope and its journey and impact on humanity. Find out what telescopes are replacing and updating these original telescopes and what people can do to stop Chandra’s decommission.

Timestamps:
00:00 - Introduction: The Great Space Observatories
00:38 - Lyman Spitzer & The Idea of Space Telescopes
3:32 - Launching Hubble
7:25 - Spitzer, Compton, & Chandra
9:23 - The Replacements: JWST, Nancy Grace Roman, & Fermi
10:21 - Decommissioning Chandra

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About StarTalk:
Science meets pop culture on StarTalk! Astrophysicist & Hayden Planetarium director Neil deGrasse Tyson, his comic co-hosts, guest celebrities & scientists discuss astronomy, physics, and everything else about life in the universe. Keep Looking Up!

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[StarTalk]

🔭 The Chandra X-ray Observatory has been crucial in space imaging. What are your thoughts on its potential decommissioning?

[ValenceFlux]

The fact that we can even do this is so incredible, not being able to fund it would be such a missed opportunity for everyone on Earth.

[StarFox.]

They JUST photographed a black hole 🤦‍♂️ WE NEED THE X-RAY SPECTRUM!

[jashley]

I found out yesterday that my wife has never been to a planetarium. I grew up outside of Atlanta in the 70s and early 80s and was so fortunate to benefit from the old model of public education. We took field trips. We had speakers from all different walks of life come and talk to us about life after school. We had mock elections for each major election while I grew up in grade school. We had music and theater classes, while we kept pace in both science and math, since we weren't subject to the common core's depleted approach.

We have a 2 year old boy and a little girl next month. We might not have the same education system we used to, but my wife and I are products of that era and we have every intention of carrying that spirit forward with our little ones. I can't wait till my boy can stay still long enough to enjoy the planetarium. He already loves stars and the moon. Thanks Neil for always encouraging us to keep looking up.

[danielarnold]

If they are, indeed, discontinuing the Chandra project due to money and not equipment failure then I will be a little saddened. I worked on the mirror assembly for Chandra and it has provided much valuable data into deep space objects. So while I'm sad to see it reach the end of it's mission I'm very proud to have part of the team that made it possible.

[briandeschene]

As I write this, the recent discussions reviewing NASA’s budget, they were instructed to keep funding and operating Chandra which gives many the hope they a path forward to keep it operational is forthcoming.

[ericreid]

We have money for everything except the useful stuff. Damn politics

[AnalyticalReckoner]

I was born in the late 70's so I grew up with the old blurry photos. Hubble photos were leaps better in quality.

[SteffDev]

We can't lose this connection to the universe!
Who knows what's left out there for us to discover...

[raziel_]

The potential decommissioning of Chandra hurts me to my core my mother worked at the Harvard Smithsonian center for astrophysics and was invited to be at the launch of sts 93 the launch of Chandra that was my first experience with spaceflight and growing up whenever i was at my moms work the many people there who worked with chandra would come over and teach me about space and the universe around us during their breaks and free time promoting a love of space that shapes me to this day

[codyroberts]

Can it be crowd funded? I’ll happily pay monthly to move this program forward. If a few million people are willing we will easily keep our telescopes operational.

[achinism]

Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar after whom the the Chandra X-ray Observatory is named, was a brilliant mathematician and astrophysicist from India. A Nobel prize winner (in the footsteps of his uncle C.V. Raman) and life-long professor at the University of Chicago, Chandra provided the mathematical functions for stellar evolution using Einstein's special theory of relativity and was one of the early proponents of Black-holes. His discoveries were initially snubbed by likes of Eddington but eventually proved to be correct and became instrumental in understanding a star's life cycle. It's only apt that the first in-orbit X-ray Observatory was named after him!

[wcbranitly]

I was born in 92 and grew up with Hubble photos, it took me a long time to realize how lucky I was to have cutting-edge photos of the cosmos in my textbooks

[thisistopsy]

Japan already launched XRISM, which is an X-ray telescope. Not as powerful as Chandra, but still can fulfill objectives and bring in X-ray data. At least it will compliment things until NASA gets a replacement.

Personally, I want the next X-ray telescope named after Viktor Ambartsumian. Very excellent astrophysicist that is almost unknown. He is the one that coined the term "active galactic nuclei."

[CarrieLaCubana]

This is where those mega donors should invest in…not in a person, but actual science.

[blarghe]

I consider space exploration to be the most important study in human history. As long as we are a single planet species we risk everything we have ever done being lost forever. It's a big problem and won't be solved in a year or even a decade, it will most likely be centuries. Risk analysis tells us that not solving this problem means total loss so we should be working on this. When we remove the ability to learn about the universe, we lose.

[jdcpit]

This is why I'm frustrated when people in positions of academic authority aren't vocal in the political arena. We're all far to beholden to our funding these days. Stuff like this happens when you allow the work of governance to be done by lesser educated people.

[hamadahassona]

As a science lover from Middle East I admire the way Neil is talking about science

[michaelccopelandsr]

Neil and Chuck for 2024! Guaranteed this will get fixed!

[lemonhead]

Loving the videos. It seems to be the more I watch, the more I get more interested in this field of science. Which leads myself closer to wanting to work as an astrophysicist.