Keel M. Posted October 23, 2012 #1 Share Posted October 23, 2012 Astronomers have spotted a rare X-ray star explosion near the center of our Milky Way Galaxy, revealing a previously unknown black hole munching on gas from a neighboring sun-like star.NASA's Swift satellite made the cosmic find last month when it detected a new and rapidly brightening X-ray source a few degrees from the galactic center of the Milky Way. Astronomers identified the outburst as a short-lived bright X-ray nova, which is produced when a stream of gas rushes toward either a neutron star or a black hole. Unlike a supernova, which is the explosive death of a star, novas are smaller explosions that do not completely destroy a star. The black hole is thought to be 20,000 to 30,000 light-years away in the galaxy's inner region. Astronomers, who named the bright X-ray nova Swift J1745-26 after its coordinates in space, said witnessing such an event is rare. Full story Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashotep Posted October 23, 2012 #2 Share Posted October 23, 2012 Interesting story, thanks for posting. Just wait until our sun explodes, hope I'm not around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waspie_Dwarf Posted October 23, 2012 #3 Share Posted October 23, 2012 Just wait until our sun explodes, hope I'm not around. Our sun won't explode, it's far too small to become a supernova. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ranrod Posted October 23, 2012 #4 Share Posted October 23, 2012 Our sun won't explode, it's far too small to become a supernova. The expansion of the sun will be no better for Earth than if it exploded. ...Since black holes are virtually invisible, I was very afraid when young, that we were headed straight towards one and didn't know it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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