Astronomers discover unusual X-ray oscillations from a black hole located 100 million light years away

A supermassive black hole in a galaxy located 100 million light years away has attracted the attention of astronomers with its unusual behavior. Observations have shown that the frequency of X-ray flashes has been steadily increasing, starting at 18-minute intervals and increasing to seven minutes over two years. This event involving a black hole, called 1ES 1927+654, is an important discovery in the study of black hole activity.

unprecedented event witnessed
The observed X-ray oscillations are believed to originate from a compact white dwarf orbiting close to the black hole's event horizon, according to research shared at the 245th meeting of the American Astronomical Society in National Harbor, Maryland. As reported by phys.org, researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) suggest that this white dwarf may maintain an indefinite orbit near the black hole, which is about a million times the mass of the Sun. Megan Masterson, a physics graduate student at MIT and co-leader of the study, said getting this close to a black hole without falling into it has never been seen before.

Insights into black hole dynamics
The oscillations were detected using the European Space Agency's XMM-Newton observatory, which measures X-ray emissions from extreme cosmic environments. The findings point to the possibility that the white dwarf's gravitational waves, emanating from its orbit, may be detectable by future observatories, such as NASA's Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA). As reported by phys.org, Erin Kara, an associate professor of physics at MIT, highlighted that the flow of material into the black hole by the white dwarf may prevent it from crossing the event horizon.

Continued observations are expected to help us better understand the dynamics between the black hole and nearby celestial bodies. Researchers aim to monitor this unique system with advanced telescopes and gravitational wave detectors, which promises to yield new insights into the physics of the universe.