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SESK: Stuff Everyone Should Know · sesk.info/astro-chandra-nested-mirrors

Ordinary mirrors do not focus X-rays. How does Chandra focus them?

Nested hollow mirror shells that X-rays strike at a glancing angle.

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  1. With a large glass lens
  2. With a dish like a radio telescope
  3. With nested mirror shells hit at a glancing angle ✔

Why: Chandra has four very smooth barrel-shaped mirrors nested inside each other. X-rays skim off their insides and focus onto detectors at the end of a 9.2-meter optical bench.

Huh, didn't know that: Chandra launched in 1999 and was the largest satellite the shuttle Columbia ever carried.

The dad joke
X-rays don't bounce straight back. They only take a glancing interest.
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References

Answer: With nested mirror shells hit at a glancing angle. Chandra has four very smooth barrel-shaped mirrors nested inside each other. X-rays skim off their insides and focus onto detectors at the end of a 9.2-meter optical bench.

  1. Chandra X-ray Center, About Chandra chandra.harvard.edu/about
    The energetic X-rays strike the insides of the hollow shells and are focussed onto electronic detectors
    Checked 2026-10-10.

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