X-rays.
When you think of X-rays,you might think of broken bones.
But here at NASA, X-rays let us see so much more.
Unlike taking an X-ray of our skeleton, which involves projecting X-rays
through our body,
we look at X-rays naturally emitted by things like stellar explosions.
X-rays are part of the electromagnetic spectrum,
the full spectrum of energy waves that runs from radio to gamma rays.
In the middle of the spectrum is visible light,
the rainbow of color that human eyes can see. X-rays, emitted by hot gases
throughout the universe, are considerably more energetic than visible light waves.
This means the wavelengths are quite small,
so they slip right between the atoms of most objects,
including the mirrors we use in telescopes to focus other kinds of light.
X-ray telescopes, like those on Chandra and JAXA's XRISM spacecraft,
use specially- designed mirrors
set at a shallow angle to minimize spaces between the mirrors atoms.
This allows X-rays to bounce off the surface of the mirror,
like a rock skipping off the surface of a pond.
Studying X-rays will help us unravel mysteries of our universe,
like the internal structure of neutron stars
or near-light-speed jets from black holes.
It's all about seeing things in a different wavelength of light.