What's An Image?
   
When we look out into space, what do we see?  We see what the human eye allows us to see....NOT MUCH.  Master astronomers can tell how hot a star is just from looking at it.  However, most people just see a pinhole in the sky cover.  All people see is light.  Humans see a very small portion of the light spectrum.  Only from 400 to 700 nm.  There is so much more to see.    
   
                   
  All four pictures on the left is the same image.  They all look different don't they.  The optical one is what our human eye can see (the visible spectrum).  The other three are at different wavelengths of light.  Isn't is fascinating how much our human eye misses out on.  
                   
                                 
           
An image is just the collection of light from an object.  The light can be collected by our eyes or by a telescope or some other light measure device. 
               
 
The satellite above is called CHANDRA.  Chandra is an X-Ray telescope that orbits the earth and captures pictures like the one in the top left above.  You will be using this telescope to further your unraveling of the mysteries of space.
 
 
First you need to install the software that will allow you to use Chandra.  Once the software is installed, proceed through the tutorial "learning ds9".  Click the Chandra image above and follow the instructions on the Chandra home page to install the software and go through the tutorial.  Return here to start your discovery.
  
     
       

Now that you have installed the software you are ready to begin your investigation of an image.  There are three important things we can learn from an image:
1)  How long it takes for the light from the object to reach us.
2)  The energy of the light.
3)  The position of the light in the sky.

This information will tell you how far away the image is, how fast it moves, and what the object is made of.
PRETTY COOL!!!!