Astronomy Colloquium

Chandra X-ray imaging of M31 and M33 is providing a wealth of detailed information about both the individual sources and whole populations within these galaxies. High spatial resolution imaging has probed the galactic nuclei, the morphology of supernova remnants, and the X-ray binary luminosity functions of crowded regions. High-precision astrometry, along with available optical data, supplies insights into the multiwavelength nature of the sources. Furthermore, the ability of Chandra to observe M31 and M33 at many different times throughout the year has allowed the discovery of many transient X-ray sources that would otherwise have been missed. Such results supply new tools
for constraining the formation and evolution of both X-ray sources and galaxies.