10 million light-years from Earth, a small galaxy glowing with new stars is home to a rare binary system. The binary star XOU J121538.2+361921, or simply X-1, is the brightest X-ray source in the galaxy NGC 4212. The binary system’s powerful Create a very hot accumulator disk.
In a recently published technical article, Zhiqun Lin (Chinese Academy of Sciences) and colleagues analyzed the unusual system using data from the Chandra X-ray Observatory and the Hubble Space Telescope.
Chandra data confirmed that the stars of the binary system revolve around each other every 3.6 hours. Using data from the Hubble Space Telescope, researchers were the first to identify the optical counterpart of an X-ray binary: a fiery blue star that likely evolved from a massive star with strong stellar winds and metal-rich atmospheres.
Within tens of millions of years, this star and its companion, which researchers believe may be a black hole (although a neutron star is not ruled out), will lose their orbital energy via gravitational waves and merge in a spectacular cosmic explosion. .
source: AAS Nova
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