05/15/2025
By Amanda Vozzo

Special Colloquium
Wednesday, May 21
4 p.m.
Coburn 140
Title: The X-ray Sky in High Definition: 25 Years of Astrophysics with the Chandra X-ray Observatory
Speaker: Pat Slane, Chandra Director

Abstract: X-ray astronomy is a product of the space age. Possible only from viewing platforms above the atmosphere, the first celestial X-ray source other than the Sun was discovered just over sixty years ago. Following fresh on the heels of this discovery, with X-ray astronomy just barely in its infancy, an almost unimaginably bold proposal was put forth to build a visionary space-borne observatory based on X-ray optics whose resolution and sheer size represented leaps by orders of magnitude over any such mirrors ever built. Following a series of smaller, but ever-improving X-ray observatories, this vision was fully realized in July of 1999 with the launch and deployment of NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory. 

Over a quarter century later, Chandra remains the world's premier X-ray astrophysics facility - the crucial high energy component of NASA's fleet of flagship observatories. From resolving the hazy X-ray background into a speckled array dominated primarily by black holes to peering through a gravitational lens to peek at supermassive black hole formation at the edge of time, Chandra has continued to do things that no other X-ray observatory can. It is unique, it is powerful, and it is healthy - poised to help continue framing the future of high energy astrophysics for years to come. As we celebrate its ongoing success, and look forward to a future with continuing advances in high-resolution X-ray imaging, I will provide a summary of some of the most exciting results from Chandra's ever-increasing scientific legacy, along with a look ahead to its continued role as both a unique stand-alone facility and a core element for panchromatic investigations of the Universe

Bio: Pat Slane is the Director of the Chandra X-ray Center, and a Senior Astrophysicist at the Center for Astrophysics, Harvard & Smithsonian. His research centers on high energy astrophysics, with particular concentration on the aftermath of massive stellar explosions. He began his career as a science teacher and remains involved in a variety of education outreach activities to bring science topics to schools and the public. Personal website.