Chandra Chronicles 7 Jan 2003

Sagittarius A*: Milky Way Monster Stars in Cosmic Reality Show

The longest X-ray look yet at the supermassive black hole at the Milky Way's center has given astronomers unprecedented access to its life and times. The new data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory revealed that our galaxy's central black hole is a frequent bad actor, prone to numerous outbursts and occasional large explosions.

http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2003/0203long

Nobel Days and Nights in Stockholm: From Black Holes to White Ties

In October 2002, we learned that Riccardo Giacconi had been awarded one half of the 2002 Nobel Prize for Physics for his pioneering work leading to the discovery of cosmic x-ray sources. Riccardo was cited for the detection of the first extra-solar x-ray source - Sco X-1 and the discovery of the all-sky x-ray background in a 1962 rocket flight. The Nobel press release also noted Riccardo's efforts to develop the first x-ray telescopes, so essential for the advancement of the field.

http://chandra.harvard.edu/chronicle/0103/nobel/

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