NuSTAR Science

The 2002 Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to Riccardo Giacconi for discoveries made in the “softer” (2000 to 10,000 electron Volt) region of the X-ray spectrum. However, in the “harder” region (extending upwards to energies of 80,000 electron Volts), the X-ray Universe is still largely unexplored. For comparison, visible light -- the light to which our eyes are sensitive-- has an energy of 1 – 3 eV, so X-rays are thousands of times more energetic than visible light. In X-rays, matter falling into black holes shines with the power of millions of Suns, and the light from distant galaxies can drill through obscuring dust. NuSTAR will also observe the sites of nearby stellar disasters: the expanding gas from supernovae, stars which have exploded and seeded the Galaxy with heavy elements, including the constituents of our bodies.