X-ray Image of Circinus X-1
The youngest member of an important class of objects called X-ray binaries were found using data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and the Australia Compact Telescope Array. X-ray binaries consist of a dense object -- either a black hole or a neutron star -- in orbit with a star like the Sun. Researchers found that the neutron star in Circinus X-1 is less than 4,600 years old, making it much younger than any other X-ray binary known in the Milky Way. This discovery allows astronomers to study a critical phase after a supernova explosion and the birth of a neutron star.
A new study shows that the X-ray binary called Circinus X-1 is less than 4,600 years old, making it the youngest ever seen. Astronomers have detected hundreds of X-ray binaries throughout the Milky Way and other nearby galaxies. However, these older X-ray binaries only reveal information about what happens later in the evolution of these systems.
This image from 2013 shows the X-ray data from Chandra.
Credit: NASA/CXC/Univ. of Wisconsin-Madison/S.Heinz et al;
#NASAMarshall #NASA #astrophysics #NASAChandra #Space #Chandra #Telescope #Universe #BlackHole #XrayBinary #NeutronStar
Read more about the Chandra X-ray Observatory
X-ray Image of Circinus X-1
The youngest member of an important class of objects called X-ray binaries were found using data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and the Australia Compact Telescope Array. X-ray binaries consist of a dense object -- either a black hole or a neutron star -- in orbit with a star like the Sun. Researchers found that the neutron star in Circinus X-1 is less than 4,600 years old, making it much younger than any other X-ray binary known in the Milky Way. This discovery allows astronomers to study a critical phase after a supernova explosion and the birth of a neutron star.
A new study shows that the X-ray binary called Circinus X-1 is less than 4,600 years old, making it the youngest ever seen. Astronomers have detected hundreds of X-ray binaries throughout the Milky Way and other nearby galaxies. However, these older X-ray binaries only reveal information about what happens later in the evolution of these systems.
This image from 2013 shows the X-ray data from Chandra.
Credit: NASA/CXC/Univ. of Wisconsin-Madison/S.Heinz et al;
#NASAMarshall #NASA #astrophysics #NASAChandra #Space #Chandra #Telescope #Universe #BlackHole #XrayBinary #NeutronStar
Read more about the Chandra X-ray Observatory