“Black hole family portrait” is a fancy way of saying “new catalog.” But it’s a very important and exciting catalog, released October 28, 2020 by gravitational wave astronomers, containing 39 new signals from black hole or neutron star collisions. Source: https://earthsky.org/todays-image/ligo-virgo-new-catalog-gwtc-2-black-hole-family-portrait…
Tag: neutron star
Mystery of unusual neutron star system revealed after 20 years, thanks to thousands of volunteers
After more than two decades, an international research team has identified a galactic mystery source of gamma rays: a heavy neutron star with a very low mass companion orbiting it. Source: https://phys.org/news/2020-10-mystery-unusual-neutron-star-revealed.html…
New research suggests innovative method to analyse the densest star systems in the Universe
In a recently published study, a team of researchers led by the ARC Centre of Excellence for Gravitational Wave Discovery (OzGrav) at Monash university suggests an innovative method to analyse gravitational waves from neutron star mergers, where two stars are distinguished by type (rather than mass), depending on how fast they’re spinning. Source: https://phys.org/news/2020-10-method-analyse-densest-star-universe.html…
Astronomers find x-rays lingering years after landmark neutron star collision
It’s been three years since the landmark detection of a neutron star merger from gravitational waves. And since that day, an international team of researchers led by University of Maryland astronomer Eleonora Troja has been continuously monitoring the subsequent radiation emissions to provide the most complete picture of such an event. Source: https://phys.org/news/2020-10-astronomers-x-rays-lingering-years-landmark.html…
Researchers find ‘missing link’ between magnetars and rotation-powered pulsars
Researchers from the RIKEN Cluster for Pioneering Research have made observations of a new magnetar, called Swift J1818.0-1607, which challenges current knowledge about two types of extreme stars, known as magnetars and pulsars. The research, just published in the Astrophysical Journal, was done using the Neutron star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER), an X-ray instrument aboard the International Space Station. Source: https://phys.org/news/2020-10-link-magnetars-rotation-powered-pulsars.html…
X-ray data reveal 1st-ever planet orbiting stars in another galaxy
While extragalactic “rogue” planets – not orbiting any star – have been reported before, the new exoplanet is the first to be detected orbiting stars in another galaxy. And not just any galaxy … but M51, the beautiful Whirlpool, 23 million light-years away. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/1st-exoplanet-in-another-galaxy-whirlpool-m51-uls-1b…
MAXI J1348−630 is a black hole X-ray binary, observations suggest
Using the Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER), an international team of astronomers has investigated a recently discovered X-ray transient designated MAXI J1348−630. Results of the new observations suggest that the source is a black hole X-ray binary. The study is detailed in a paper published September 16 on arXiv.org. Source: https://phys.org/news/2020-09-maxi-j1348630-black-hole-x-ray.html…
What are white dwarf stars?
White dwarfs are dead stars. A single white dwarf contains roughly the mass of our sun in a volume no bigger than our planet. Our sun will become a white dwarf someday. Source: https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/white-dwarfs-are-the-cores-of-dead-stars…
Elements of surprise: Neutron stars contribute little, but something’s making gold, research finds
Neutron star collisions do not create the quantity of chemical elements previously assumed, a new analysis of galaxy evolution finds. The research also reveals that current models can’t explain the amount of gold in the cosmos—creating an astronomical mystery. The work has produced a new-look Periodic Table showing the stellar origins of naturally occurring elements from carbon to uranium. Source: https://phys.org/news/2020-09-elements-neutron-stars-contribute-gold.html…
Strongest magnetic field in universe directly detected by X-ray space observatory
The Insight-HXMT team has performed extensive observations of the accreting X-ray pulsar GRO J1008-57 and has discovered a magnetic field of ~1 billion Tesla on the surface of the neutron star. This is the strongest magnetic field conclusively detected in the universe. This work, published in the Astrophysical Journal, was primarily conducted by scientists from the Institute of High Energy Physics…