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WASHINGTON (Reuters) – US researchers say they have detected a mysterious and unexpected source in the fireworks galaxy, where bright X-rays emanate.
The enigmatic source appeared as quickly as it disappeared, the light only shines for three weeks, then fades again, the researchers said.
The team, led by Hanna Earnshaw of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, has speculated on this sudden influx.
The researchers published their findings in the latest issue of the Astrophysical Journal on Astrophysics.
In 2017, astronomers examined the supernova supernova explosion in the asteroid of the northern hemisphere, relying on NASA's Nostar satellite and the XMM Newton's satellite of the NASA. European Space Research Agency.
Scientists had previously identified an unknown source of X-rays.
Nostar's focused on observing the galaxy, but found no trace of the X-ray source. "A ten-day period is a very short space that allows a celestial body to shine like that, "said Earnshaw in a statement from NASA.
When NASA's Chandra satellite began using its instruments to search for the orb, 10 days after its discovery, the object was gone.
The researchers identified three very bright sources of X-rays in the fireworks galaxy, about 25 million light-years away, which received its name because of the many supernova explosions in the galaxy.
Often, these traditional celestial bodies, black holes swallow a substance, but the material does not fall directly into the black hole, but rather into bunches in a water-like swirl around the pigeon's pelvis.
As for the aquarium water, the material falls faster, before disappearing into the black hole, and its temperature rises to a few million degrees, to the point of emitting X-rays.
But this process takes a relatively long time and usually does not happen in a few days.
The Ercho team suggested two explanations: first, the reason for the rays is a black star that grabbed a small star very quickly and swallowed it, or that the source of the rays were calls a neutron star.
Neutron stars are extremely compact bodies, resulting from the burning of suns, stars that fade after burning and are so strong in their own gravity that a star the size of our sun is compressed into a ball a few dozen kilometers in diameter not exceeding the diameter of a city. Like in Berlin.
Neutron stars, too, have a huge gravitational force and can swallow matter from the surrounding environment, but they often have a strong magnetic field and spin very fast.
This powerful, fast rotating magnetic field could prevent the material in the center from reaching the star's surface, "because it looks like a person who wants to dive into Carousel's fun. while it turns at thousands of kilometers per hour, "said Erenshaw.
But the magnetic field can blink temporarily and allow some of the material to reach the surface of the neutron star.
This mechanism may explain the sudden glow and then the rapid fading of the X-ray source.
Researchers can not determine if any of these likely interpretations really fit reality, without relying on continuous monitoring of the radiation source to find new information.
The researchers say that if the source shines again, it would support the hypothesis of the neutron star.
The researchers point out, however, that the information they are currently publishing is a step towards a better understanding of the rare and extreme realities of black holes and neutron stars that swallow other star clusters, Erincho said.
Date: 2019-09-09
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