Probing the cosmic X-ray laboratory with the Chandra HETGS

The High Energy Transmission Grating Spectrometer (HETGS) on the Chandra X-ray Observatory is a powerful tool for studying the astrophysical properties of X-ray emitting objects. Emission and absorption lines and features can probe the physical properties of stellar winds, relativistic jets, supernova remnants (SNRs), active galactic nuclei and the intergalactic medium. The capabilities of this instrument are illustrated through highlights of HETGS science, with examples including the jet structure in SS433, a Doppler velocity map of SNR E0102-72, and evidence of abundance anomalies in the microquasar GRS1915+105.