by NASA and operated by the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. Thousands of genuinely stunning photographs taken by the observatory are presented. Over 450 image files in JPG and GIF format are provided for use in any computer graphics program, and twenty computer video movie clips are also included. Images and observations of many types of astronomical targets are included: Supernovae Pulsars Neutron Stars Quasars Galaxies Clusters Black Holes Milky Way Galaxy The Chandra X-ray Observatory, launched by Space Shuttle Columbia on July 23, 1999, is NASA's newest Great Observatory. Chandra detects and images X- ray sources that are billions of light years away. The mirrors on Chandra are the largest, most precisely shaped and aligned, and smoothest mirrors ever constructed. If the surface of Earth was as smooth as the Chandra mirrors, the highest mountain would be less than six feet tall! The images Chandra makes are twenty-five times sharper than the best previous X-ray telescope. This focusing power is equivalent to the ability to read a newspaper at a distance of half a mile. Chandra's improved sensitivity is making possible more detailed studies of black holes, supernovae, and dark matter. Chandra will increase our understanding of the origin, evolution, and destiny of the universe. In all, the disc has nearly 6000 pages reproduced using Adobe Acrobat PDF software - allowing direct viewing on Windows and Apple Macintosh systems. Reader software is included on the CD. Our CD-ROMs are privately-compiled collections of official public domain U.S. federal government files and documents. They are designed to provide a convenient user-friendly reference work utilizing the benefits of the Adobe Acrobat format to uniformly present thousands of pages that can be rapidly reviewed, searched by finding specific words, or printed without untold hours of tedious research and downloading. Vast archives of important public domain government information that might otherwise remain inaccessible are available for instant review no matter where you are. This book-on-a-disc makes a great reference work and educational tool. There is no other reference that is as fast, convenient, comprehensive, and portable - everything you need to know, from the federal sources you trust.

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