Close Menu
  • Home
  • UNSUBSCRIBE
  • News
  • Lifestyle
  • Tech
  • Entertainment
  • Sports
  • Travel
Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp
Trending
  • Ex-NFL star JJ Watt debuts new hairstyle for commentating debut
  • The NFL’s ‘Ride the float’ commercial was made with AI
  • 'Goosebumps' for 'wise' Bethell as potential turns into first pro hundred
  • Patrick Schwarzenegger Marries Abby Champion
  • Phillies fans describe viral confrontation over baseball
  • RFK Jr. wants to overhaul the country’s ‘vaccine court.’ Here’s what stands in his way.
  • Death row inmate reveals Joseph Naso confessed to murdering 26 women
  • Lenovo’s new concept laptop has a rotating screen
Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp
Baynard Media
  • Home
  • UNSUBSCRIBE
  • News
  • Lifestyle
  • Tech
  • Entertainment
  • Sports
  • Travel
Baynard Media
Home»Lifestyle»X-ray telescope finds something unexpected with the ‘heartbeat black hole’
Lifestyle

X-ray telescope finds something unexpected with the ‘heartbeat black hole’

EditorBy EditorAugust 23, 2025No Comments2 Mins Read
Share Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Reddit Telegram Email
Share
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email

A black hole’s bizarre “heartbeat” is forcing astronomers to reconsider how these cosmic heavyweights behave.

Observations of IGR J17091-3624 — a black hole in a binary system roughly 28,000 light-years from Earth — were taken using NASA’s Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE). Nicknamed the “heartbeat” black hole for its dramatic, rhythmic pulses in brightness, the object feeds on matter stolen from a companion star. The black hole’s pulses are the result of fluctuations in the superheated plasma swirling around it (also known as the accretion disk) and the inner region called the corona, which can reach extreme temperatures and radiate incredibly luminous X-rays.

IXPE measured the polarization — the direction of the black hole’s X-rays — to determine the alignment of its vibrations. The space probe recorded a surprising 9.1% polarization degree, which is much higher than theoretical models predicted, according to a statement from NASA.


You may like

Studying the polarization degree offers insight about the geometry of the black hole and motion of matter nearby. Typically, such high readings suggest the corona is viewed almost edge-on, where its structure appears highly ordered. However, other observations of IGR J17091-3624 don’t seem to match that picture, leaving scientists with a puzzling contradiction.

Astronomers tested two different models to help explain the recent observations of IGR J17091-3624. One posits that powerful winds are being launched from the accretion disk, scattering X-rays into a more polarized state even without an edge-on perspective. The other suggests the corona itself is moving outward at extraordinary speeds, causing relativistic effects that amplify polarization. Simulations of both scenarios reproduce the IXPE results, but each model challenges long-held assumptions about black hole environments.

“These winds are one of the most critical missing pieces to understand the growth of all types of black holes,” Maxime Parra, co-author of the study from Ehime University in Matsuyama, Japan, said in the statement. “Astronomers could expect future observations to yield even more surprising polarization degree measurements.”

Their findings were published May 27 in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

Get the world’s most fascinating discoveries delivered straight to your inbox.

Source link

Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
Previous ArticleRam returns to NASCAR Truck Series in 2026 with Kaulig Racing partnership
Next Article Kilmar Abrego Garcia notified by ICE that he may be deported to Uganda
Editor
  • Website

Related Posts

Lifestyle

RFK Jr. wants to overhaul the country’s ‘vaccine court.’ Here’s what stands in his way.

September 7, 2025
Lifestyle

James Webb telescope finds a warped ‘Butterfly Star’ shedding its chrysalis — Space photo of the week

September 7, 2025
Lifestyle

2,200-year-old gold coin depicting ancient Egyptian queen discovered in Jerusalem

September 7, 2025
Add A Comment

Comments are closed.

Categories
  • Entertainment
  • Lifestyle
  • News
  • Sports
  • Tech
  • Travel
Recent Posts
  • Ex-NFL star JJ Watt debuts new hairstyle for commentating debut
  • The NFL’s ‘Ride the float’ commercial was made with AI
  • 'Goosebumps' for 'wise' Bethell as potential turns into first pro hundred
  • Patrick Schwarzenegger Marries Abby Champion
  • Phillies fans describe viral confrontation over baseball
calendar
September 2025
M T W T F S S
1234567
891011121314
15161718192021
22232425262728
2930  
« Aug    
Recent Posts
  • Ex-NFL star JJ Watt debuts new hairstyle for commentating debut
  • The NFL’s ‘Ride the float’ commercial was made with AI
  • 'Goosebumps' for 'wise' Bethell as potential turns into first pro hundred
About

Welcome to Baynard Media, your trusted source for a diverse range of news and insights. We are committed to delivering timely, reliable, and thought-provoking content that keeps you informed
and inspired

Categories
  • Entertainment
  • Lifestyle
  • News
  • Sports
  • Tech
  • Travel
Facebook X (Twitter) Pinterest WhatsApp
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Disclaimer
  • UNSUBSCRIBE
© 2025 copyrights reserved

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.