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A new project provides special 3D \u201cexperiences\u201d on Instagram using data from NASA\u2019s Chandra X-ray Observatory and other telescopes through augmented reality (AR), allowing users to travel virtually through objects in space. These new experiences of astronomical objects \u2013 including the debris fields of exploded stars \u2013 are being released to help celebrate the 25th<\/sup> anniversary of operations from Chandra, NASA\u2019s flagship X-ray telescope.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n In recent years, Instagram experiences (previously referred to as filters) of NASA mission control, the International Space Station, and the Perseverance Rover on Mars have allowed participants to virtually explore what NASA does. This new set of Chandra Instagram filters joins this space-themed collection.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are excited to bring data from the universe down to earth in this way,\u201d said Kimberly Arcand, visualization and emerging technology scientist at the Chandra X-ray Center. \u201cBy enabling people to access cosmic data on their phones and through AR, it brings Chandra\u2019s amazing discoveries literally right to your fingertips.\u201d<\/p>\n The new Instagram experiences are created from 3D models based on data collected by Chandra and other telescopes along with mathematical models. Traditionally, it has been very difficult to gather 3D data of objects in our galaxy due to their two-dimensional projection on the sky. New instruments and techniques, however, have helped allowed astronomers in recent years to construct more data-driven models of what these distant objects look like in three dimensions.<\/p>\n These advancements in astronomy have paralleled the explosion of opportunities in virtual, extended, and augmented reality. Such technologies provide virtual digital experiences, which now extend beyond Earth and into the cosmos. This new set of Chandra Instagram experiences was made possible by a collaboration including NASA, the Smithsonian Institution, and students and researchers at Brown University.<\/p>\n These Instagram experiences also include data sonifications of the celestial objects. Sonification is the process of translating data into sounds and notes so users can hear representations of the data, an accessibility project the Chandra team has led for the past four years.<\/p>\n \n