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Astronomers were surprised when NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory detected dozens of supernova remnants in a nearby galaxy flaring and flickering in X-rays instead of fading quietly. This discovery indicates that in each case, a star appears to have survived its partner’s explosion, only to be slowly consumed by the black hole or neutron star left behind.
The wreckage of an exploded star is meant to fade quietly, cooling over thousands of years like the embers of a fire. So astronomers were stunned when NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory caught dozens of these supernova remnants in a nearby galaxy doing the opposite, flaring and flickering in X-rays as though refusing to die. In each case a star appears to have survived its partner’s explosion, only to be slowly devoured by the black hole or neutron star its companion left behind. It’s a discovery that turns the calm graveyards of dead stars into something far stranger and more alive.
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