Black Hole X-Ray Burst From M83 Galaxy Spied By NASA Chandra Observatory

An X-ray image of the spiral galaxy 83.

By: SPACE.com Staff
Published: 05/02/2012 07:13 AM EDT on SPACE.com

A NASA space telescope has detected an incredible energy burst from a distant black hole, an explosion so intense that it boosted the black hole's X-ray brightness by at least 3,000 times, scientists say.

The outburst came from a black hole in the spiral galaxy M83, about 15 million light-years away from Earth. Using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, astronomers found a new object, called an ultraluminous X-ray source (ULX),  that emits more X-rays than most "normal" systems in which a companion star orbits around a black hole or neutron star, the researchers said.

The observations from Chandra spanned several years, and scientists noticed that the ULX in M83 increased its X-ray brightness by at least 3,000 times.

This surprisingly sudden brightening is one of the largest changes in X-rays ever seen for this type of object, according to the researchers. In fact, ultraluminous X-ray sources do not typically have periods of dormancy. [Photos: Black Holes of the Universe]

In the accompanying image, the left is an optical view of M83. On the right is a composite image showing X-ray data from Chandra in pink and optical data from the Hubble Space Telescope in blue and yellow. The ULX is located near the bottom of the composite image. 

Optical images of the black hole in M83 were taken by the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope in Chile. These images revealed a bright blue source where the ULX is located during the X-ray outburst. Yet, before the outburst, this blue source cannot be seen, the scientists said.

The discrepancy suggests that the companion to the black hole in M83 is a red giant star that is more than 50 million years old. The mass of this object is less than four times the mass of the sun, and according to theoretical models that predict the evolution of stars, the black hole in M83 should be almost as old as this companion red giant star.

The bright blue emission that could be seen during the X-ray outburst could be the black hole's disk brightening significantly as it acquires more material from its companion star, the astronomers said.

Another strangely behaved ULX from a black hole with an old, companion red giant star was found recently in the galaxy M31. These new discoveries in M83 and M31 show that there could be a population of similar black holes that are older and more volatile, the researchers said.

The mass of the ULX in M83 is estimated to be between 40 to 100 times the mass of the sun.

The astronomers also found that the black hole in this system may have formed from a star surprisingly rich in "metals," or elements that are heavier than helium. Based on previous observations, the ULX is located in a metal-rich region.

Large concentrations of metals increase the rate of mass lost from massive stars, siphoning mass before they collapse. This also decreases the mass of the resulting black hole.

Current theoretical models suggest that in regions highly rich in metals, only black holes with masses less than about 15 times that of the sun should form. As a result, the findings based on the ULX in M83 could dispute these models, the researchers said.

Another plausible explanation is that the black hole is so old that it formed at a time when heavy elements were much less abundant in M83, before metals were sprinkled throughout by later generations of supernovas. Astronomers are also investigating the possibility that the mass of the black hole in M83 is only about 15 times that of the sun.

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Comments

[siddharthksinha]

05:35 AM on 05/07/2012

Siddharth sinha - [e-mail]

The Out put of Black hole

Everybody is curious to know when a black whole grasp galaxy then where all the visible matter goes?
As per my opinion the physical matter or you can say visible matter which pulled inside the black hole, turns in to DARK MATTER and some residue explodes through PULSSAR in energy format.

DARK MATTER concept was introduced in last decade. DARK MATTER is the bonding material of universe. It can not be seen, touch or feel.

[Magicbot]

12:05 AM on 05/05/2012

I thought this was an article about the French Band, M83...hmph.

[rjhuntington]

08:13 AM on 05/04/2012

"Optical images of the black hole in M83 were taken..."

No, they weren't. No image has ever been taken of a black hole. Black holes are theorized mathematically and their existence remains speculative despite the tendency of astronomers and astrophysicists to speak of black holes as if their existence is incontrovertible, which it is not.

[gsalis]

08:12 PM on 05/04/2012

You could say that about almost anything really

[rjhuntington]

10:09 PM on 05/04/2012

How so? One can see and feel rocks, for example, asteroids can be examined, comets, you can see them, we've sent probes to them and photographed them directly. Stars exist in a very obvious way, which is to say they are observable. Black holes are not observable under any circumstances or conditions.

[victorzeller]

12:31 AM on 05/04/2012

There's a couple of black holes in the White House, but not for long.

[KrautMan]

10:31 AM on 05/05/2012

Says the white dwarf.

[Marcusarilius]

12:26 AM on 05/04/2012

A black hole ate my homework. The information is not lost, but remains frozen at the Event Horizon. So I'm going to have to write another thesis entitled, "Black Holes Suck."

[Skagway sioux]

12:23 AM on 05/04/2012

Seen lots of those, they all look the same to me !

[blueswithafeeling]

10:46 PM on 05/03/2012

In the total of the all--we ain't squat.

[LeslieJones817]

10:45 PM on 05/03/2012

Awesome

[Scarlette OHara]

08:30 PM on 05/03/2012

What is it we are gaining from wasting billions of dollars looking at black holes instead of taking care of the planet full of people we have here on earth?

[Johnny Buchanin]

09:19 PM on 05/03/2012

a lot of the conveniences that you use daily come from science and discovery... maybe you prefer to live in a cave?

[Scarlette OHara]

09:59 PM on 05/04/2012

actually knowing how most of humanity treats one another now-a-days, I would prefer that.

[Ferrariqx]

12:15 AM on 05/04/2012

I'm sorry, but science is for the intellectually curious. You see, we enjoy learning. That's how progress is made which ultimately help people. Perhaps American Idol is on TV and you can entertain yourself there?

NEXT!

[Marcusarilius]

12:27 AM on 05/04/2012

LMAO!!!!!

[mrgmorgan56]

07:42 PM on 05/03/2012

I don't get it...I thought this was a photo of Lindsey Lohan's inescapable, dark, dank, hole...

[stanas999]

06:38 PM on 05/03/2012

I agree.

[Scott Bryan Kanner]

04:18 PM on 05/03/2012

Bazinga!!

[Canefighter]

04:49 PM on 05/03/2012

Double BAZINGA back at you. Tag lol

[lunasstar2989]

04:09 PM on 05/03/2012

It amazes me that they can find crap millions of light years away, yet we have no cure for cancer.

[diabalos76]

04:55 PM on 05/03/2012

Or do we, it's just not released?

[yukidongo1]

12:58 AM on 05/04/2012

Imagine just how much research money would just evaporate if they released the cure for cancer. There is a girl in the Northeast of this country that created some kind of nanocell, and it destroys cancer--all types. There was a brief blurb, but nothing after that. I wonder why they aren't excited and giving more detail. I need to find out more about it, so I can give more informed post about it. Anyone got any news? Going googling...LOL!

[mickcf7]

05:30 PM on 05/03/2012

Finding something and "curing" something else is two entirely different concepts. Science does not advance equally in all directions at all times.

[cherry5]

03:22 PM on 05/03/2012

ain't no such thing as a black whole, you been had suckers

[sandman7733]

05:46 PM on 05/03/2012

Yawn. Yes, and the earth is only 6,000 years old. Perhaps there really are no "black wholes," but there ARE "black holes."

[terwalk2]

07:59 PM on 05/03/2012

then u havent met my ex gf

[blueswithafeeling]

10:45 PM on 05/03/2012

I have!

[victorzeller]

12:34 AM on 05/04/2012

I liked all of her holes.

[happyjoyjoy333]

03:21 PM on 05/03/2012

To speculate further...why do galaxies look like hurricanes spiraling clouds? Why do vortexes in space look like tornadoes? Hurricanes form over hot spots in the ocean, and tornadoes form when hot and cold air masses whiz by each other. Who's to say the same priciples can't apply in space. There is so much dark matter and dark energy whirling around that we can't see or measure, and it may have the properties to make it happen the same way up there. Space has "hot spots, cold spots as well. What puts all the new stars formed into spins? Too, galaxies always look like water spinning down a drain.....I suppose even that comparison is close to a "water spout" tornado over sea. And galaxies are observed at all angles in our universe, just as the tornadoes on earth are observed wrangling wildy through our atmosphere. Space is not a black void......it has an "atmosphere" too, although we cannot see it with our eyes. It evidences itself in it's action on what we CAN see. Space even has a distinct smell of gun powder! Astronauts could smell it on themselves when they got back in from spacewalks. Before everyone starts trying to disprove most of what I have said, just remember.there is NO harm in speculating and letting ideas bounce around. You never know what may result from it. And it is a fun way to enjoy the universe. Kinda like seeing cloud animals inclouds.

[hat1701d]

04:06 PM on 05/03/2012

Not all galaxies are spiral by a long shot. They come in many different forms. As to an "atmosphere" in space, the typical cubic meter of space / vacuum averages somewhere around 3000 atoms. That varies of course depending on location such as whether or not you are in a nebula for instance. That said though, even nebulae are not the super thick fog as shown in the classic battle scene in Star Trek; The Wrath of Kahn where the Enterprise and Reliant duck and weave in and out of the mist like a pair of aircraft in the clouds. Dark Matter ( and Dark Energy ) are as yet not fully understood. Neither can be directly seen at this time. Dark Matter seems to have a gravitational effect and keeps the galactic super clusters in large "strands" when looked at in a 3 dimensional "map" of the universe. Dark Energy seems to compose the vast, vast voids between those strands and is evidently producing a "repulsion" force against gravity. Slowly gaining strength and causing the universe to expand faster and faster by observations.

[happyjoyjoy333]

06:21 PM on 05/03/2012

Yup, understood. I generalized a bit due to lack of space (pun intended). I know there are globular, barred, etc galaxies too. Was just referencing the spirals for comparison. In this universe one size, one flavor doesn't exist. As for the nebulas, etc. Yep, understood too. Most of what we "see" via hubble images processing guys are false colors for oxygen, hydrogen, etc., that they use to represent the distribution and quantities of elements in each as they equate to a predesignated color. So in effect the guys that publish the "colors" in hubble photos are making the invisible visible for us laypersons. Re: the "strands......they may be compared to the buttons "strings" as well? Not saying they ARE, just that the actions and twisting effects resemble each other. Another thing about the fabric of space time...it's been generally accepted that objects with more mass sink further and lighter objects orbit them by virtue of their gravity, but there seems to be some force out there acting on objects similar to the coreolis (sp?) effect here on earth. Like the fabric is not a background or staging area for the workings of the universe, but is actually a living thing in an of itself.
In any event, the more we speculate and follow the mind's meanderings, the more we learn, even if we turn down a few dead ends once in awhile. And what is more fascinating than that?

[happyjoyjoy333]

06:22 PM on 05/03/2012

.lol.....and don't even get me started on wormholes..........;o)

[Reality always bites]

04:32 PM on 05/03/2012

Concept of infinity? Maybe the planet on which we spin is just a grain of sand caught up in a hurricane on another planet that we haven't envisaged yet!

[diabalos76]

04:57 PM on 05/03/2012

Would explain the crazy weather we been having lately

[happyjoyjoy333]

06:23 PM on 05/03/2012

It may very well be we discover that too. :o)