X-Ray Astronomy
These Three Neutron Stars Shouldn't Be So Cold
Neutron stars are among the densest objects in the Universe, second only to black holes. Like black holes, neutron stars…
After Swirling Around a Black Hole, Matter Just Falls Straight In
The physics surrounding black holes is just plain weird. A gravitational well so strong that not even light can escape…
First Light from Einstein Probe: A Supernova Remnant
On 9 January 2024, the Einstein probe was launched, its mission to study the night sky in X-rays. The first…
Stellar Winds Coming From Other Stars Measured for the First Time
An international research team led by the University of Vienna has made a major breakthrough. In a study recently published…
This Black Hole is a Total Underachiever
Anyone can be an underachiever, even if you're an astronomical singularity weighing over four billion times the mass of the…
Half the Entire Sky, Seen in X-Rays
There's an old trope in science fiction about someone suddenly getting X-ray vision and looking through solid objects. It turns…
Chinese Rocket Lofts the Einstein Probe and its “Lobster Eyes”
Any astronomical instrument dubbed “Lobster Eyes” is bound to grab attention. It’s actually unlike scientists to give anything creative names,…
Japan’s New X-Ray Observatory Sees First Light
XRISM, the X-ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission, is a joint NASA/JAXA mission led by JAXA. The X-ray space telescope began…
Spider Pulsars are Tearing Apart Stars in the Omega Cluster
Pulsars are extreme objects. They're what's left over when a massive star collapses on itself and explodes as a supernova.…
Confirmed. Ultra-Luminous X-Ray Sources are Really That Bright
At the extreme end of astrophysics, there are all sorts of phenomena that seem to be counter-intuitive. For example, how…