During the last week Chandra completed the observing schedule as planned.

Chandra press and image releases were issued on Jun 15 describing observations taken with Chandra over 14 years of the nearby galaxy Messier 83 (M83) with a population of supernova remnants, or the debris from these explosions, showing strong and unexpected changes in their brightness. A likely explanation pictures each variable source as originating in a pair of massive stars orbiting each other. Following the collapse of the more massive star and its explosion as a supernova, it leaves behind a black hole or ultra-dense neutron star, which can accrete material from its companion star. These types of systems, known as high-mass X-ray binaries (HMXBs), are among the most variable X-ray sources known. For details, see: https://chandra.si.edu/press/26_releases/press_061526.html

Further Chandra press and image releases were issued on Jun 15 describing Chandra images taken in 2012, 2017, 2023 and 2025 of the spectacular jet in Messier 87 (M87), a galaxy about 55 million light-years from Earth with one of the most massive known black holes — weighing some 6.5 billion times the mass of the Sun — in its core. Until now, X-ray observations could not resolve some jet structures as clearly as observations obtained at other wavelengths, particularly in the radio and optical bands. Using deconvolution techniques, the Chandra images of the jet now reveal much finer details, achieving an X-ray resolution comparable to that reached at other wavelengths. Both superluminal motion, an illusion produced when particles travel at speeds close to that of light and in a direction roughly toward Earth, and significant brightness variations consistent with a process known as synchrotron cooling were observed. For details, see https://chandra.si.edu/press/26_releases/press_061526_m87.html

The schedule of targets for the next week is shown below and includes an observation of LEDA184063, which is a follow-up to a Target of Opportunity accepted on Apr 30.