Gamma-Ray and X-Ray Astronomy

Gamma rays have the shortest wavelengths. Special telescopes in orbit around Earth, such as the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA’s) Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory, gather gamma rays before Earth’s atmosphere absorbs them. X rays, the next shortest wavelengths, also must be observed from space. NASA’s Chandra X-Ray Observatory (CXO) is a school-bus-sized spacecraft scheduled to begin studying X rays from orbit in 1999. It is designed to make high-resolution images.