Latest news with #XMM-Newton
Yahoo
16-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Long-dormant black hole 'woke up' before our eyes — now, it's doing something that astronomers can't explain
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. In December 2019, an ordinary galaxy 300 million light-years from us in the constellation Virgo suddenly woke up. After decades of inactivity, the black hole at the galaxy's heart burst with light. Now, the cosmic monster appears to be doing something that is forcing astronomers to re-evaluate their understanding of these massive celestial bodies. The black hole now gives off powerful X-rays at nearly regular intervals. These outbursts are known as quasi-periodic eruptions (QPEs), and have been observed emitting from other black holes. But the bursts observed here are up to 100 times more powerful than normal, according to new research. First observed in February 2024 by astronomers at Valparaiso University in Chile, this behavior grants scientists an unprecedented view of a black hole that seems to be awakening from dormancy with no sign of going back to sleep. Led by the Valparaiso team, a group of researchers published their observations of the black hole's QPE in a study on April 11 in the journal Nature Astronomy. In addition to giving astronomers a novel view of black holes, these events are also spurring researchers to reconsider how black holes behave. "This is the first time we have observed such an event in a black hole that seems to be waking up," the paper's first author Lorena Hernández-García, an astronomy researcher at Valparaiso University, said in a statement. "This rare event provides an opportunity for astronomers to observe a black hole's behaviour in real time." Related: Supermassive black hole at the heart of the Milky Way is approaching the cosmic speed limit, dragging space-time along with it The galaxy, called SDSS1335+0728, first called attention to itself in 2019 when it unexpectedly started gleaming. At that time, astronomers from the European Southern Observatory studied the event by consulting NASA's Swift X-ray space telescope and data from the eROSITA X-ray telescope. After investigating the galaxy's central region — nicknamed Ansky — they concluded that the flash resulted from Ansky's massive black hole beginning an active phase. But in February 2024, Hernández-García's team noticed bursts of previously undetected X-rays emanating from Ansky, caught by X-ray space telescopes XMM-Newton and NASA's NICER, Chandra, and Swift. These QPEs are momentary, recurring X-ray flares. Astronomers believe QPEs result from interaction between accretion disks — the swirling ring of red-hot matter that surrounds a black hole — and nearby objects, like a star or a smaller black hole. But Ansky's QPEs aren't typical. They're remarkable because they last 10 times longer and are 10 times more luminous than average QPEs, the researchers said. Persisting for more than four days, they each release one hundred times more energy than what's expected. These QPEs reveal a whole new aspect of black holes that don't fit neatly into astronomers' prior understanding of the cosmic bodies. In particular, these unusual QPEs can help broaden our understanding of how these events occur. For example, there's no evidence that Ansky has shredded a star into its accretion disk, which is what researchers currently believe triggers most QPEs. Therefore, there must be another explanation for the impetus that causes the QPEs in this case. The X-ray bursts may instead come from energetic shocks in the accretion disk spurred by a small celestial object repeatedly disrupting its orbiting material, according to the paper. RELATED STORIES —Incredible photo shows supermassive black hole blowing a jet of matter into interstellar space —Black holes can destroy planets — but they can also lead us to thriving alien worlds. Here's how. —Black holes may obey the laws of physics after all, new theory suggests It's also possible that these repeated QPEs come from gravitational waves. The European Space Agency's upcoming Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA), set to launch in 2035, may confirm that connection by detecting gravitational waves with greater fidelity than ever before. For now, Ansky is reshaping how we conceive of black holes. "Studying Ansky will help us to better understand black holes and how they evolve," Hernández-García said.
Yahoo
11-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
For the first time, astronomers watch a black hole ‘wake up' in real-time
A black hole is a terrifying concept, but the mysterious nexus of physics and space-time isn't always gobbling up matter. While famous for devouring anything and everything in its gravitational pull, black holes aren't constantly destructive. In fact, they often exhibit long periods of dormancy. Astronomers had never witnessed a black hole 'wake up' in real time—until now. Researchers have spent the past few years watching a black hole re-awaken roughly 300 million light-years away from Earth. And what they've documented challenges prevailing theories about black hole lifecycles. The groundbreaking observations are detailed in a study published on April 11 in Nature Astronomy. For decades, the supermassive black hole anchoring a galaxy known as SDSS1335+0728 in the Virgo constellation hasn't displayed much activity. But beginning in late 2019, astronomers noticed it began to emit intermittent, bright flashes of energy. They soon reclassified the galaxy's center as an active galactic nucleus nicknamed 'Ansky,' and enlisted telescopes from NASA and the ESA to help study the unexpected event. 'When we first saw Ansky light up in optical images, we triggered follow-up observations using NASA's Swift X-ray space telescope, and we checked archived data from the eROSITA X-ray telescope, but at the time we didn't see any evidence of X-ray emissions,' Paula Sánchez Sáez, a researcher at the European Southern Observatory in Germany and lead researcher of the first team to study Ansky, said in a statement. Fast forward to February 2024 when Lorena Hernández-García at Chile's Valparaiso University began detecting even more regular X-ray bursts from Ansky. The rare events allowed astronomers to once again aim their tools like the XMM-Newton X-ray space telescope and NASA's Chandra, NICER, and Swift telescopes at Ansky. Hernández-García and collaborators then determined the black hole was displaying a phenomenon known as a quasiperiodic eruption, or QPE. 'QPEs are short-lived flaring events. And this is the first time we have observed such an event in a black hole that seems to be waking up,' said Hernández-García. XMM-Newton proved particularly critical to studying Ansky's behavior, since it is the only telescope sensitive enough to capture fainter background X-ray light amid the black hole's stronger X-ray bursts. By comparing the two phases, astronomers could calculate the amount of energy released by Ansky during its more active periods. While a black hole inevitably destroys everything it captures, objects behave differently during their impending demise. A star, for example, generally stretches apart into a bright, hot, fast-spinning disc known as an accretion disc. Most astronomers have theorized that black holes generate QPEs when a comparatively small object like a star or even a smaller black hole collides with an accretion disc. In the case of Ansky, however, there isn't any evidence linking it to the death of a star. 'The bursts of X-rays from Ansky are ten times longer and ten times more luminous than what we see from a typical QPE,' said MIT PhD student and study co-author Joheen Chakraborty. 'Each of these eruptions is releasing a hundred times more energy than we have seen elsewhere. Ansky's eruptions also show the longest cadence ever observed, of about 4.5 days.' Astronomers must now consider other explanations for Ansky's remarkable behavior. One theory posits that the accretion disc could come from nearby galactic gas pulled in by the black hole instead of a star. If true, then the X-rays may originate from high energy shocks to the disc caused by a small cosmic object repeatedly passing through and disrupting orbital matter. As it stands, astronomers possess more QPE models than data from actual events. Thanks to Ansky's reawakening, that may soon change. 'We don't yet understand what causes them,' said Hernández-García. 'Studying Ansky will help us to better understand black holes and how they evolve.'
Yahoo
11-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
NASA spacecraft spots monster black hole bursting with X-rays 'releasing a hundred times more energy than we have seen elsewhere'
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. We've all woken up in a terrible mood from time to time, but a newly observed monster black hole is really having a bad day. The previously inactive supermassive black hole at the heart of the galaxy SDSS1335+0728, located about 300 million light-years away from us, was seen erupting with the longest and most powerful X-ray blasts ever seen from such a cosmic titan. This active phase marks the start of the supermassive black hole devouring matter around it and erupting with short-lived flaring events called quasiperiodic eruptions (QPEs). The black hole, which has remained quiet for decades, is responsible for a region at the heart of its galaxy called an "active galactic nucleus," or "AGN." The team has dubbed this AGN "Ansky." The awakening of Ansky was first detected in late 2019, alerting astronomers who followed up on its manifestation with NASA's Swift X-ray space telescope. By Feb. 2024, astronomers had begun to see the black hole powering Ansky erupting with flares at fairly regular intervals. This offered a unique opportunity: It became possible to monitor a feasting and erupting supermassive black hole in real time. "The bursts of X-rays from Ansky are ten times longer and ten times more luminous than what we see from a typical QPE," team member Joheen Chakraborty of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) said in a statement. "Each of these eruptions is releasing a hundred times more energy than we have seen elsewhere. Ansky's eruptions also show the longest cadence ever observed, of about 4.5 days. "This pushes our models to their limits and challenges our existing ideas about how these X-ray flashes are being generated.' The team's QPE observations were made possible with assistance from the European Space Agency (ESA) space mission XMM-Newton, NASA's NICE and Chandra missions, and archival data from eROSITA. The team remains puzzled about the cause of Ansky's outbursts. QPEs have previously been associated with supermassive black holes capturing stars, ripping them apart, and devouring the remains. That stellar destruction doesn't seem to be happening for Ansky. "For QPEs, we're still at the point where we have more models than data, and we need more observations to understand what's happening," ESA Research Fellow and X-ray astronomer, Erwan Quintin, said in the statement. "We thought that QPEs were the result of small celestial objects being captured by much larger ones and spiraling down towards them. "Ansky's eruptions seem to be telling us a different story." Related Stories: — Is our universe trapped inside a black hole? This James Webb Space Telescope discovery might blow your mind —James Webb Space Telescope finds our Milky Way galaxy's supermassive black hole blowing bubbles (image, video) — Tiny black holes left over from the Big Bang may be prime dark matter suspects "These repetitive bursts are also likely associated with gravitational waves that ESA's future mission LISA (Laser Interferometer Space Antenna) might be able to catch," Quintin added, referring to the joint ESA/NASA space-based gravitational wave detector set to launch in 2037. "It's crucial to have these X-ray observations that will complement the gravitational wave data and help us solve the puzzling behaviour of massive black holes." The team's research was published on Friday (March 11) in the journal Nature Astronomy.
Yahoo
12-02-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Mysterious cosmic lights turn out to be 2 undiscovered supernova remnants
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. When scientists aimed the European Space Agency's X-ray observatory, XMM-Newton, at two mysterious lights on the outskirts of the Large Magellanic Cloud, they discovered an unexpected source: two previously unknown supernova remnants. "When a star dies, it can explode in a supernova, causing a strong shock wave and forming an interstellar object called a supernova remnant," wrote an international team of scientists in a paper outlining the discovery. "Supernovas are important for the matter cycle in galaxies and the formation of the next generations of stars," they continued, "as the shock waves create supernova remnants, which heat and ionize the circumstellar medium or the interstellar medium, sweep up and compress matter, and enrich their environment with chemical elements.' In a newly released visible-light image from ESA, the remnants appear as two distinct circles in the lower-left corner — J0624-6948 (orange, positioned higher) and J0614-7251 (blue, lower). The yellow crosses mark previously identified supernova remnants. The Large Magellanic Cloud is a dwarf galaxy so close to the Milky Way that it is visible to the naked eye from Earth's Southern Hemisphere. Together with the Small Magellanic Cloud, it is one of the Milky Way's largest satellite galaxies, and one of the few still actively forming stars. For a supernova to leave behind a remnant, the dying star must be surrounded by ionized gases — conditions typically found in dense, star-forming regions, not in the outer reaches of a galaxy. Ionized gas is typically found in active star-forming regions, where radiation from young, hot stars strips electrons from atoms This makes the location of J0624-6948 and J0614-7251 particularly unexpected. However, comparisons with other known supernova remnants and theoretical models showed brightness and size match to other confirmed supernova remnants in the Large Magellanic Cloud. "It is surprising that these two sources of light turned out to be supernova remnants, far away from all other echoes of stellar explosions that we knew of before," wrote ESA scientists in a press release. This suggests that the Large Magellanic Cloud might have a higher concentration of ionized gas than scientists previously thought. Related Stories: — 'Daredevil' white dwarf star could be closest-known object to a weird black hole — Hubble Telescope witnesses Milky Way strip its galactic neighbor of gas — The Milky Way's 2 biggest satellite galaxies are oddly lonely, study finds The team speculates that this could be possible due to interactions between the Large Magellanic Cloud, the Milky Way, and the Small Magellanic Cloud, which may be influencing its gas distribution. As these galaxies interact through gravitational forces, they may be pulling, compressing, or even ionizing gas in unexpected ways, which could make the outskirts of the Large Magellanic Cloud more active or turbulent than previously believed, reshaping our understanding of its structure and star-forming potential. The discovery of supernova remnants in the outskirts of the Large Magellanic Cloud confirms that stellar explosions can happen beyond a galaxy's main body. For the first time, this allows scientists to study these events' shock waves, expelled stellar material, and surrounding environments in a new way. "In this way, these two supernova remnants are helping us to better understand the dynamics of our home galaxy's neighborhood," the team concluded.
