In the February issue of Scientific American two astrophysicists offer a close-up look at a telescope they are developing for NASA. The Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) is the space agency's first mission capable of focusing high-energy x-rays. Among other goals, NuSTAR is expected to capture the highest quality hard x-ray images to date of black holes, neutron stars and other extreme phenomena. The photo feature in the magazine showed just the optics; this slide show reveals NuSTAR's other components as they are assembled in preparation for the telescope's launch next year.
A Look inside NASA's Next X-Ray Observatory [Slide Show]
The NuSTAR satellite will be the first space telescope capable of focusing high-energy x-rays into high-quality imagery--a feat that requires some incredibly intricate optics
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