An international team of researchers, led by postgraduate trainee Alexis Andrés, has actually discovered that the black hole at the center of our galaxy, Sagittarius A *, not just flares irregularly from day to day however likewise in the long term. Low-energy (300 to 1,500 electron volts) X-rays appear red. The Swift Observatory has been observing gamma rays from black hole given that 2006. Co-author Dr. Jakob van den Eijnden, of the University of Oxford, comments on the groups findings: “How the flares take place exactly stays unclear. It was previously believed that more flares follow after gaseous clouds or stars pass by the black hole, however there is no proof for that.
In the next few years, the team of astronomers expect to collect sufficient information to be able to dismiss whether the variations in the flares from Sagittarius A * are because of passing gaseous clouds or stars, or whether something else can discuss the irregular activity observed from our galaxys central great void.
” The long dataset of the Swift observatory did not just occur by accident,” states co-author and previous manager to Andrés, Dr. Nathalie Degenaar, likewise at the University of Amsterdam. Her demand for these particular measurements from the Swift satellite was approved while she was a PhD student. “Since then, Ive been requesting more observing time routinely. Its a very unique observing program that permits us to conduct a lot of research.”
Co-author Dr. Jakob van den Eijnden, of the University of Oxford, talk about the teams findings: “How the flares take place exactly stays uncertain. It was previously thought that more flares follow after gaseous clouds or stars go by the great void, but there is no proof for that yet. And we can not yet validate the hypothesis that the magnetic properties of the surrounding gas contribute either.”
Recommendation: “A Swift research study of long-lasting modifications in the X-ray flaring properties of Sagittarius A” by A Andrés, J van den Eijnden, N Degenaar, P A Evans, K Chatterjee, M Reynolds, J M Miller, J Kennea, R Wijnands, S Markoff, D Altamirano, C O Heinke, A Bahramian and G Ponti, D Haggard, 9 December 2021, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.DOI: 10.1093/ mnras/stab3407.
Artists idea illustration of a supermassive great void giving off an x-ray jet. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
A global team of researchers, led by postgraduate trainee Alexis Andrés, has discovered that the black hole at the center of our galaxy, Sagittarius A *, not only flares irregularly from day to day but likewise in the long term. The team evaluated 15 years worth of data to come to this conclusion.
Sagittarius A * is a strong source of radio, X-rays, and gamma rays (visible light is blocked by intervening gas and dust). Astronomers have understood for years that Sagittarius A * flashes every day, producing bursts of radiation that are 10 to a hundred times brighter than typical signals observed from the great void.
This X-ray image of the galactic center merges all Swift observations from 2006 through 2013. Sagittarius A * is at the. Low-energy (300 to 1,500 electron volts) X-rays appear red.
To discover out more about these mystical flares, the group of astronomers, led by Andrés, searched for patterns in 15 years of information offered by NASAs Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, an Earth-orbiting satellite dedicated to the detection of gamma-ray bursts. The Swift Observatory has actually been observing gamma rays from great void considering that 2006. Analysis of the data showed high levels of activity from 2006 to 2008, with a sharp decline in activity for the next four years. After 2012, the frequency of flares increased once again– the scientists had a challenging time distinguishing a pattern.