Just as bats emit sound waves and perceive objects through reflected waves, NASA’s NICER telescope has accidentally discovered 8 hidden monsters right within the Milky Way galaxy.
According to Sci-News, these are 8 stellar-mass black holes belonging to X-ray binary systems, where the black holes are voraciously consuming material from their companion, a red giant star.
Graphic depiction of a “stellar-mass” monster consuming material from its companion and generating “echoes” – which are burps during its frenzied meal – (Image: Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias)
NICER was originally designed to explore another type of cosmic monster – neutron stars, which are a kind of “zombie” of giant stars that have exhausted their energy. However, this time it made a groundbreaking discovery, as stellar-mass black holes are notoriously elusive. Not only are they invisible, but their effects on surrounding objects are often unclear.
The research team, led by the Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research at MIT, used an automated search tool they casually referred to as the “echo catcher” to analyze NICER’s data, which is currently stationed on the International Space Station (ISS).
The “echoes” of X-rays they aimed to capture are the X-ray emissions from the black holes when they “burp” during their continuous feeding. When consuming material, black holes often emit jets, ejecting something back into space. In this case, it includes X-rays and reflective gas.
By cross-referencing the data they received from the black hole’s own halo and the “echoes”, which arrive at the telescope at different times, scientists can calculate the size of the black holes and gain insights into their properties and activities.
The researchers identified 26 potential pairs and 8 “monsters” that emitted echoes in the manner they anticipated.
This research has just been published in the Astrophysical Journal.
