Astronomers uncovered that a well-known X-ray binary, whose exact nature has been a mystery to scientists until now, is actually a hidden ultraluminous X-ray source.
Astronomers uncovered that a well-known X-ray binary, whose exact nature has been a mystery to scientists until now, is actually a hidden ultraluminous X-ray source.
X-ray binaries are intriguing systems consisting of two celestial bodies: a normal star and a compact, dead object such as a black hole or a neutron star that sucks material from its stellar companion. A few hundred such sources have been identified thus far in our Galaxy. When it comes to the most powerful phenomena in the Universe, the release of gravitational energy in X-ray binary systems stands out as a highly efficient process.
Among the first X-ray binary systems discovered in the cosmos is the system Cygnus X-3. Since the early 1970s, this binary system was noted for its ability to briefly emerge as one of the most intense radio sources, yet in a few days it dims or vanishes altogether. This peculiar characteristic spurred early efforts, coordinated by telephone calls, to unite astronomical observations across the globe. The unique behavior of the system during these short-lived, highly energetic events, contrasting its otherwise “normal” nature, led to it being dubbed the “astronomical puzzle Cygnus X-3” by R.M. Hjellming in 1973. Numerous efforts have been aimed at understanding its nature ever since.
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