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L. P. Van Speybroeck (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics)
The Chandra Observatory telescope is producing X-ray images with sub arc second resolution. The flight performance of the mirror will be presented and compared with that expected from pre-flight measurements and calibration data.
The scientific program includes observations of a set of distant galaxy clusters to study cluster evolution and to provide distance estimates by combining these data with radio observations of the Sunyaev Zel'dovich effect. Preliminary analyses of some of these observations will be presented. The number of clusters observed and analyzed by the time of the meeting will not be sufficient to yield precise distances, but the quality of the data will be accessed to estimate the precision which ultimately will be achieved.