NASA releases 25 unseen images of the Peacock constellation, Crab Nebula and more

NASA has released 25 never-before-seen images of various cosmic objects to celebrate the 25th anniversary launch of its Chandra X-ray Observatory.

The unseen images showcase the Crab Nebula, Orion Nebula, Virgo Cluster, Peacock constellation and more — all bursting with bright, galactic hues of purple, gold and red.

NASA said the stellar set of photographs is just a small sample of the 25,000 observations Chandra has taken during its quarter-century in space.

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“These images, which all include data from Chandra, demonstrate how X-ray astronomy explores all corners of the universe,” NASA said in a statement. “By combining X-rays from Chandra with other space-based observatories and telescopes on the ground, as many of these images do, astronomers can tackle the biggest questions and investigate long-standing mysteries across the cosmos.”

Chandra was launched on July 23, 1999, from the space shuttle Columbia. The idea for Chandra began in 1976 and, eventually, it became one of NASA’s “great observatories” along with the Hubble Space Telescope and the now-retired Compton Gamma Ray Observatory and Spitzer Space Telescope.

“Scientists have written over 10,000 peer-reviewed and accepted papers based on Chandra data, gathering almost half a million citations, making it one of the most productive NASA missions in astrophysics,” the space agency said.