'300 million light-years away': Scientists discover a black hole patiently waiting to devour a dead star
Produced by Tarun Mishra
Produced by Tarun Mishra
A star has been observed orbiting a supermassive black hole approximately 300 million light-years away in the galaxy LEDA 3091738. The system was first identified in 2019 by the Zwicky Transient Facility and the black hole was given the nickname "Ansky".
Ansky emits X-ray bursts every four-and-a-half days, each lasting for about 1.5 days. These emissions are known as quasi-periodic eruptions (QPEs), a rare phenomenon observed in only eight known cases across the universe.
The orbiting star moves through the accretion disk of hot gas surrounding Ansky, generating shockwaves. These shockwaves heat the gas and cause clouds of material to be expelled, which in turn emit X-rays.
Researchers from MIT, led by PhD student Joheem Chakraborty, monitored Ansky using NASA’s NICER instrument aboard the International Space Station, supplemented by data from ESA’s XMM-Newton space telescope.
Each pass through the accretion disk results in the star losing orbital energy. This loss is slowly pulling the star closer to the black hole, leading to predictions that the star could be destroyed within five to six years.
If the star has a similar mass to the Sun, around 400 QPEs remain before it loses all orbital energy. If it is more massive, it may survive longer. Increased frequency of QPEs will help estimate the star’s mass over time.
Ongoing monitoring by NICER and XMM-Newton will track the acceleration of QPEs. These data will be used to predict when the star will be consumed by the black hole. Researchers aim to observe the event from start to finish.