NuSTAR

Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array

active Mission

What

Black-Hole Spin Pushes Gravity's Limits

Solved

How Do Supernovae Occur?

Achievements

A Decade of Discoveries
A spacecraft, pictured against a black background of space, consisting of two modules at either end of a long metal latticework scaffold running horizontally across the frame. On the left module, a single solar panel extends upward, shining white and bright blue in sunlight. The right-side module is more bulky, and looks like a fist wrapped in aluminum foil.

Studying the universe in high-energy X-rays to better understand the dynamics of black holes, exploding stars, and the most extreme active galaxies, this telescope was first to measure precisely the spin of a black hole, and contributed to the first-ever picture of a black hole.

Type

Space Telescope

Launch

June 13, 2012

Target

Universe

Objective

Map Selected Regions of the Sky
Learn more about NuSTAR

NuSTAR Stories

Explore All NuSTAR (Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array) Stories
Article
6 min read

NASA Telescopes Find New Clues About Mysterious Deep Space Signals

Article
6 min read

Brightest Cosmic Explosion Ever Detected Had Other Unique Features

6 min read

NASA’s TESS Celebrates Fifth Year Scanning the Sky for New Worlds

Article2 years ago
5 min read

NASA Study Helps Explain Limit-Breaking Ultra-Luminous X-Ray Sources

Article2 years ago
4 min read

NASA’s NuSTAR Telescope Reveals Hidden Light Shows on the Sun

Article2 years ago
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James Webb Space Telescope

The image is divided horizontally by an undulating line between a cloudscape forming a nebula along the bottom portion and a comparatively clear upper portion. Speckled across both portions is a starfield, showing innumerable stars of many sizes. The smallest of these are small, distant, and faint points of light. The largest of these appear larger, closer, brighter, and more fully resolved with 8-point diffraction spikes. The upper portion of the image is blueish, and has wispy translucent cloud-like streaks rising from the nebula below. The orangish cloudy formation in the bottom half varies in density and ranges from translucent to opaque. The stars vary in color, the majority of which have a blue or orange hue. The cloud-like structure of the nebula contains ridges, peaks, and valleys – an appearance very similar to a mountain range. Three long diffraction spikes from the top right edge of the image suggest the presence of a large star just out of view.

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