Astronomers Detect Unusual X-Ray Oscillations From a Black Hole 100 Million Light-Years Away
A supermassive black hole in a distant galaxy, located 100 million light-years from Earth, has captured astronomers’ attention with its extraordinary behavior. Observations reveal a progressive increase in the frequency of X-ray flashes, which initially appeared every 18 minutes but accelerated to seven-minute intervals over two years. This rare phenomenon, associated with the black hole 1ES 1927+654, represents a groundbreaking discovery in black hole research.
A Unique Astronomical Event
As presented at the 245th meeting of the American Astronomical Society in National Harbor, Maryland, the X-ray oscillations are believed to originate from a compact white dwarf in close orbit around the black hole’s event horizon. According to researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the white dwarf appears to be maintaining a precarious orbit without being consumed—something never observed before. Megan Masterson, a physics graduate student at MIT and co-lead of the study, emphasized the significance of this extraordinary finding.
New Insights Into Black Hole Physics
The oscillations were detected using the European Space Agency’s XMM-Newton observatory, which specializes in measuring X-ray emissions from extreme cosmic environments. Researchers suggest that the white dwarf’s gravitational waves, caused by its orbit around the black hole, could be detectable by future observatories, such as NASA’s Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA).
Erin Kara, an associate professor of physics at MIT, noted that the white dwarf’s continuous loss of material to the black hole might be preventing it from crossing the event horizon.
Future Observations and Scientific Impact
Continued monitoring of this rare system using advanced telescopes and gravitational wave detectors is expected to deepen our understanding of the interactions between black holes and nearby celestial bodies. This discovery paves the way for new insights into the physics of black holes and their influence on surrounding space.
