title: Chandra's Cosmos: Dark Matter, Black Holes, and Other Wonders Revealed by NASA's Premier X-Ray Observatory
author:  Wallace H. Tucker 
description: Whenever astronomers have looked at the universe with new eyes, they have made fundamentally new discoveries. This book masterfully describes the discoveries of one such set of eyes, the Chandra X-ray Telescope, sensitive to some of the highest-energy phenomena in the universe. From black holes to dark matter, from exploding stars to cosmic rays, this book has it all. <br /> <br /> Michael A. Strauss, author of <i>Welcome to the Universe: An Astrophysical Tour<br /><br />Chandras Cosmos</i> is a richly rewarding account of recent discoveries in astronomy and cosmology, including galaxy clusters, black holes, dark matter, dark energy, and more. <br /> Astronomer and veteran science writer Wallace Tucker welcomes the reader with a<br /> a down-to-earth conversational tone and historical and literary references, as well as accurate reporting. In the end, we are left in awe with how much weve learned about our vast cosmos, and how much remains a mystery.<br /> <br /> Alan Lightman, Professor of the Practice of the Humanities, MIT and <br /> author of <i>Einsteins Dreams</i>, <i>The Accidental Universe</i>, and many other books<i><br /><br /></i>In Chandra's Cosmos, Wallace Tucker explains how the Chandra X-Ray Observatory has played acritical rolein our understanding of the universe. When we deployed Chandra, the thirdof NASA's fourGreat Observatories,from the space shuttle Columbia in 1999, we knew it had the potential to do for X-ray astronomers what the Palomar telescope had done for optical astronomers. In the almost two decades since its launch, Chandrahas exceeded all our expectations and has given us critical insight into the invisible universe of X-ray astronomy and the energetic processes that produce X-rays.One remarkable scientific discovery that Chandra helped to confirm is the existence of dark matter and dark energy, which make up about 95 percent of the universe and about which weknow almost nothing. No doubt Chandra will help us solve that problem in years to come. In the meantime,Tucker tells us the story of the evolution of our understanding of the remaining5 percent of the universein a way that will capture the interest of anyone who has pondered the nature of the cosmos.<i><br /> <br /> </i>Steven A. Hawley,Professor, Physics and Astronomy, University of Kansas, and astronaut,STS-93, Chandra Deployment Mission<i><br /><br /></i><b>PUBLISHERS WEEKLY<br /><br /></b>Tucker (Revealing the Universe, with Karen Tucker), science spokesperson for the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatorys Chandra X-ray Center, relates the history of NASAs Chandra X-ray Observatory and the purpose for which it was constructed. When Chandra was launched in 1999 aboard the space shuttle Columbia, astrophysicists hoped the x-rays it observed emitting from the hottest regions of space would reveal the twisted space around black holes, the secrets of supernovas, and how the big bangs early moments shaped the universe. Tucker tells his story in three sections. The Big explores the paradox of dark matter and dark energy, the mysterious features that make up 95% of our universe. The Bad illuminates supermassive black holes, including the monsters that fuel quasars and those that lurk at the center of many galaxiesincluding the Milky Way. Tuckers The Beautiful takes a closer look at supernovas, the explosive stellar death throes that end in white dwarfs, neutron stars, and pulsars. Because Earths atmosphere absorbs x-rays, astronomers need telescopes like Chandra in space to collect data. Tuckers richly illustrated book shows why Chandras data is essential to building a more complete picture of our universe, its components, and its history. Illus. (Apr.)<b><br /><br />BOOKLIST<br /><br /></b>NASAs Chandra X-Ray Observatory has been orbiting Earth taking precise readings of the universes hot spots since 1999. The unprecedented high-resolution images it generates of exploded stars, galaxy clusters, and matter around black holes is, thanks to the work of innovative astrophysicists, dramatically changing our understanding of the shape and makeup of the universe. This is heady material and Tucker is pitch-perfect in his elucidation of how X-ray astronomy works and what it is revealing about the powerful phenomena that keep the cosmos forever in flux. With spectacular photographs accompanying his vivid<br />descriptions, Tucker explains that 95 percent of the universe is darkthat is, impenetrable to our tools of detectionwith 25 percent defined as dark matter and 70 percent as dark energy, a mysterious force that is increasing as the universe expands. Tucker writes of cosmic rays, cosmic webs connecting massive galaxy clusters, sheets of gas, and, most dramatically, black holes, around which blast jets of highenergy particles resembling awesome waterspouts. Its one astonishment after another in this invaluable, imagination-stirring overview of cutting-edge astrophysics.<br /> Donna Seaman<br /><br /><b>CHOICE</b><br /><br />Peering deep and long into the darkness is what astronomers do, says Tucker, a professional astronomer, a science journalist, and the science spokesperson for the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory's Chandra X-Ray Center.Few instruments have peered as deep into darkness as NASAs Chandra X-ray Observatory, launched in 1999.This is a beautiful book about some of the most amazing discoveries made by one of NASAs flagship observatories.It is richly illustrated with images and diagrams that are well-explained in simple terms and written in Tuckers easy-to-follow, conversational style. The books main theme is that access to the X-ray region has given astronomers key information on a host of hot topics in astronomy, ranging from white dwarf stars and supernovas to the monster black holes at the heart of most or all galaxies like our own.Chandra observations have also provided key clues to current astronomical puzzles, such as dark matter and dark energy.This book introduces readers to all these topics and more.It is also a good general introduction to astronomy, albeit presented in a nontraditional yet very engaging, order.<br /> <i>--T. D. Oswalt, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University</i> Summing Up: Highly recommended. All readers.
zlib_text: Space&Physics
  OBJECTS ENTERING OUR  
  SOLAR SYSTEM ARE UPENDING  
  SOME LONG-HELD  
  ASTRONOMICAL ASSUMPTIONS
  Plus: 
  WITH COVERAGE FROM
  Interstellar 
  Interlopers
  FEBRUARY/MARCH 2020 | SCIENTIFICAMERICAN.COM
  PROBING 
  BLACK HOLES 
  AT THE  
  HEART OF 
  COLOSSAL 
  GALAXIES
  SHOULD WE 
  BELIEVE IN THE 
  MULTIVERSE?
  QUANTUM  
  HEAT TRANSFER  
  IN A VACUUM
  
  The Majesty of Cosmic Chaos 
  I must have been in about eighth grade when I first learned about one of the most recognizable cosmic formations 
  that humans have ever observed. The Horsehead Nebula, a sculpted pillar of dust and gas that forms the far edge of 
  the Orion B molecular cloud, is part of a massive stellar nursery where gravity, magnetic forces and radiation winds 
  force matter together to birth new stars. That such a volatile, powerful place in the universe could also resemble the 
  majestic beauty of a horse’s head had me hooked. Now some astronomers hypothesize that colossal black holes, 
  too, may arise from so-called nurseries. As Charlie