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[42.18] Resolving X-ray Emission in the Galactic ``Starburst'' NGC 3603 with Chandra

M. F. Corcoran (GSFC-LHEA/USRA), W. Brandner (IfA), B. Johnson (GWU), B. Koribalski (CSIRO), S. Marchenko (Montreal), A. Muecke (Montreas), R. Mushotzky (GSFC/LHEA), A. Moffat (Montreal), J. Pittard (Leeds), A. Pollock (C&S Ltd), A. Ptak (CMU), G. Skalkowski (Montreal), I. Stevens (Birmingham)

We present the first Chandra/ACIS-I X-ray images of the supergiant Galactic HII/starforming region NGC 3603. We resolve the emission into (conservatively) ~100 stellar objects, and compare our high resolution Chandra X-ray images of the core cluster to high-resolution optical images obtained by HST. The detected sources apparently include most of the massive O stars, some WR stars (which may show evidence of emission produced in wind-wind collisions), and some surprisingly bright emission from relatively late type stars and PMS stars. We present preliminary source identifications from comparison with optical images and present a preliminary L_x/L_bol relation for the massive X-ray sources.