Visual Description:<\/strong><\/p>\nThis video shows a three-dimensional map of stars near the Sun on the left side of our screen and a dramatic illustration of a star with a planet orbiting around it on the right side.<\/p>\n
The star map on the left shows many circular dots of different colors floating within an illustrated three-sided box. Each wall of the box is constructed in a grid pattern, with straight lines running horizontally and vertically like chicken wire. Dots that are colored blue represent stars that have been observed with NASA\u2019s Chandra and ESA\u2019s XMM-Newton.<\/p>\n
Suspended in the box, at about the halfway point, is a series of three concentric circles surrounding a central dot that indicates the placement of our Sun. The circles represent distances of 5, 10, and 15 parsecs. One parsec is equivalent to roughly 3.2 light-years.<\/p>\n
In the animation, the dot filled, chicken wire box spins around slowly, first on its X axis and then on its Y axis, providing a three-dimensional exploration of the plotted stars.<\/p>\n
News Media Contact<\/h2>\n
Megan Watzke
Chandra X-ray Center
Cambridge, Mass.
617-496-7998<\/p>\n
Jonathan Deal
Marshall Space Flight Center
Huntsville, Ala.
256-544-0034<\/p>\n
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\nLee Mohon <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This graphic shows a three-dimensional map of stars near the Sun. These stars are close enough that they could be prime targets for direct imaging searches for planets using future telescopes. The blue haloes represent stars that have been observed with NASA\u2019s Chandra X-ray Observatory and ESA\u2019s XMM-Newton. The yellow star at the center of [\u2026] Continue reading → <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n