[ad_1]
A giant ring of black holes has been discovered 300 million light years away, offering new clues about what happens when galaxies collide.
Using NASA's Chandra X-ray observatory, astronomers have detected a very bright source of X-rays that is probably fed by a ring of stellar mass black holes or neutron stars – the small, dense corpses after the stars. stellar explosions – according to a new study.
The bright X-ray source emanates from the circular galaxy AM 0644-741 (abbreviated to AM 0644), located about 300 million light-years from Earth. By combining Chandra data and NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, astronomers have created a composite image of X-rays and optical observations of the galaxy. [Images: Black Holes of the Universe]
It is believed that the observed ring of black holes or neutron stars is the result of a collision of galaxies. The galaxies were probably gravity-collected, and the gravitational force of a galaxy created waves in the gas surrounding its neighbor, which in this case is AM 0644. The ripples would then have caused the expansion or the agglutination of the gas. zones, triggering the birth of new stars.
A composite image of the circular galaxy AM 0644-741. The image includes X-ray data from the Chandra X-ray observatory (purple) and optical data from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope (red, green and blue). The galaxy AM 0644 is located at the bottom right.
Credit: NASA / CXC / INAF / A. Wolter et al; NASA / STScI
"The most massive of these nascent stars will lead short lives – in cosmic terms – for millions of years," representatives of the Chandra X-ray Observatory said in a statement. "After that, their nuclear fuel is spent and the stars explode like supernovae, leaving behind black holes with masses typically between five to twenty times that of the sun, or neutron stars of approximately equal mass. to that of the sun. "
Black holes or neutron stars have cosmic companions near which they siphon gas. This gas falls inward and is heated by friction, creating the bright X-rays detected by Chandra, according to the statement.
In addition, the brilliant X-rays of AM 0644 are classified as ultra-bright X-ray sources (ULX). These objects produce hundreds to thousands of times more x-rays than most other black-hole neutron-star or x-ray binaries. However, the identity of individual ULXs in AM 0644 is currently unknown, according to the statement.
In addition to the ring of black holes or neutron stars surrounding AM 0644, Chandra's data revealed a supermassive black hole located at the center of the galaxy, as well as a Fast-growing black hole located behind the galaxy 9.1 billion light years from Earth.
And AM 0644 was not the only ring galaxy inspected by Chandra. The telescope observed six other annular galaxies, revealing a total of 63 x-ray sources, of which 50 are considered ULX.
In fact, the seven annular galaxies contain a higher number of ULX per galaxy than other types of galaxies. According to the statement, these galaxies could therefore help astronomers better understand the origin of ULX.
The study was published Aug. 10 in The Astrophysical Journal and is available online.
Follow Samantha Mathewson @ Sam_Ashley13. follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com.
[ad_2]
Source link
