X-raying the universe with Martin Weisskopf
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and Science
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X Ray Astronomy Is Child of the Space Programe
X ray astronomy is child of the space programe. The first experiments had to be done from rockets. X rays will not penetrate through the atmosphere to reach the surface of the earth. They don't have this nice cross section like for visible light, which comes down to the surface. But if you make the angle of incidence much more shallow, then as you get to a certain angle called a critical angle, the x ray will reflect. For chandra took about 20 years of development, the surface roughness of a few angstrums and many mirrors nested.
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