Periodic Table of the ElementsArtist's conception of the area around a black hole
Suzaku was designed with several key science goals in mind. Those goals include:
When and where are the chemical elements created? Suzaku can probe the amount of oxygen, silicon, iron and other elements in nearby stars, supernova remnants in our galaxy and its neighbors, and in distant clusters of galaxies.
What happens when matter falls onto a black hole? Suzaku can measure the velocities of matter around a black hole in a binary star system, or at the center of a galaxy.
How does nature heat gas to X-ray emitting temperatures? Maybe the sensitive measurements the Suzaku will help scientists explain how gases are heated to X-ray temperatures in the corona of a star, or how (how much) cosmic ray particles are accelerated in young supernova remnants.
To find out more about X-ray astronomy in general and some of the specific objects that astronomers study using X-ray information, visit the main Science page.
Dr. Kim Weaver talks about the objects Suzaku observes. Visit the Suzaku Educational DVD page for more information on this video and to view other clips from the DVD.
