The supernova impostor: Chandra finds likely source of giant star's repeated outbursts
Using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, astronomers have discovered what is triggering repeated outbursts from a giant, unstable star.
NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory has uncovered the cause of repeated outbursts from a large, unstable star known as AT 2016blu. The star, located in the spiral galaxy NGC 4559 about 30 million light-years away, is a type of luminous blue variable that experiences sudden, extreme increases in brightness, resembling supernova explosions but without destroying the star.
For 15 years, astronomers observed the star's brightness fluctuations, but it was only with Chandra's data that they could understand what triggered these events. The star appears to be orbiting a previously hidden companion object, either a stellar-mass black hole or a neutron star. As they orbit each other every 113 days, the companion pulls material from the massive star, causing periodic X-ray emissions that heat the surrounding gas and make it glow optically.
This discovery marks the first X-ray detection of a luminous blue variable with a black hole or neutron star companion and the first ultra-luminous X-ray source to have such a companion. The finding could help scientists understand the link between these violent stellar eruptions and ultra-luminous X-ray sources, as well as provide insights into stars that undergo brightness changes before supernova explosions.
Written by urgent.news from NASA's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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- NASA’s Chandra Finds Source of Star’s Mysterious Outbursts science.nasa.gov
