NASA finds a mysterious cosmic ring in the galaxy far, far

Constituted by Chandra's X-ray observatory, this enigmatic "X-ray power ring" is made up of neutron stars or black holes.

NASA's Chandra X-ray observatory once again helped astronomers trace a celestial singularity.

After the space telescope recently shed new light on a rare neutron star species located 200 000 light-years away, the first of its kind outside the Milky Way, reported by the Inquisitr – Chandra goes further beyond the borders of our galaxy and falls on a mysterious cosmic ring found 300 million light-years away from Earth.

This bizarre structure – which the Chandra X-ray Observatory website describes as "an X-ray power ring," a replica that echoes Tolkien's universe – is tucked into a galaxy called AM 0644-741 (AM 0644).

And, if anything could override Sauron's infamous power ring, that would be the case. According to NASA, the enigmatic ring discovered inside the galaxy AM 0644 is made up of neutron stars (ultra-dense and massive stars formed from collapsed nuclei of supernovae) or – prepare to that – black holes.

This impressive discovery was unveiled in a superb composite image, published yesterday by the space agency and stitched from radiographic observations made by Chandra (in purple) and optical data captured by the Hubble Space Telescope (in red, green) . and blue).

Details on this captivating galactic ring of neutron stars – or black holes – can also be found in a recent study, published last month in the Astrophysical Journal.

But how does such a complex structure become? Well, scientists believe that this particular ring was forged in the fires of a galactic collision, while two galaxies of almost equal size crashed.

In fact, "AM 0644-741" is what astronomers call a "ring galaxy," created from the violent galactic impact, explain the makers of Chandra's observatory.

This "catastrophic collision" generated gas ripples throughout the galaxy, which ultimately "produced an expanding gas ring in AM 0644 that triggered the birth of new stars," NASA notes.

So, how does this translate into a ring of black holes or neutron stars? The explanation is quite simple. These objects are what remains after the massive stars formed in the gas ring have reached the end of their short life and have become a supernova. As a result of these explosions, the gas ring remains peopled with black holes of stellar mass five to twenty times more massive than the sun or typical neutron stars, weighing about 1.5 solar mass.

The video below, uploaded to YouTube by Chandra's X-Ray Observatory, illustrates the whole process, explaining how the mysterious ring inside AM 0644-741 was created.

"This ring, even though it does not hold power in Middle-earth, could help scientists better understand what happens when galaxies mutilate each other in catastrophic impacts," NASA officials said. in a statement.

Chandra was able to detect this supernatural phenomenon after zeroing X-ray emissions from certain objects inside the ring. These objects, whether they are neutron stars or black holes, exist in binary systems – which means that they each live in close proximity to a star in the gas ring.

But this type of union is usually unfortunate for the stellar companion, who is usually devoured by the nearby black hole or neutron star. As these objects, which rely on the gas from their neighboring star, emit intense X-ray emissions, which Chandra can detect.

A similar interaction between a single black hole and his stellate companion has been described by the Inquisitr earlier this year, revealing what happens when a star is engulfed by a black hole.

The interesting thing about the X-ray sources found by Chandra in the ring is that they are all "bright enough to be classified as ultraluminous X-ray sources," notes NASA.

"This class of objects produces hundreds of thousands of times more x-rays than most" normal "binary systems in which an associated star is orbiting a neutron star or a black hole," explains the space agency.

Until now, astronomers have not been able to determine if these objects are black holes or neutron stars. They may actually be a mixture of both, although it is quite possible that they are exclusively black holes or neutron stars.