HLX-1 brightest ultra-luminous X-ray source known.

  • Thread starter Thread starter Philosophaie
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Source X-ray
AI Thread Summary
HLX-1, located approximately 300 million light years from Earth in the galaxy ESO 243-49, is the brightest ultra-luminous X-ray source known. It is not a supermassive black hole, but rather an intermediate mass black hole, which explains its extreme luminosity. The discussion highlights that luminosity decreases with distance, allowing smaller black holes to appear exceptionally bright if they are close enough. Unlike typical black holes, HLX-1's characteristics place it between stellar-mass black holes and active galactic nuclei. This unique classification contributes to its status as a significant astronomical phenomenon.
Philosophaie
Messages
456
Reaction score
0
The most extreme ultra-luminous X-ray source, HLX-1 is 300light years from Earth. HLX-1 is the brightest ultra-luminous X-ray source known. Also it is not a supermassive black hole but it is the center of the galaxy. How can it be the brightest x-ray source and be a small black hole?
 
Astronomy news on Phys.org
Luminosity falls off as the square of the distance from the emitter and the observer. Close enough, and any strong X-ray source (no matter how small) could be the "brightest".
 
Note that it is not 300 light years away, but 300 MILLION light years away. Slightly further.
 
Philosophaie said:
HLX-1 is the brightest ultra-luminous X-ray source known. Also it is not a supermassive black hole but it is the center of the galaxy. How can it be the brightest x-ray source and be a small black hole?
HLX-1 is in the galaxy ESO 243-49, about 300 million light years from the Earth. It is not at the center of a galaxy; that is one of the hallmarks of an ultraluminous X-ray source. The other hallmark is that they are ultraluminous, which means that their X-ray output exceeds that which would result from a stellar black hole.

In other words, ultraluminous X-ray sources are neither stellar-mass black holes nor active galactic nuclei. They are something in between, such as an intermediate mass black hole.
 

Thread 'Does it make sense to build new radio telescopes?'

TL;DR Summary: In 3 years, the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) telescope (or rather, a system of telescopes) should be put into operation. In case of failure to detect alien signals, it will further expand the radius of the so-called silence (or rather, radio silence) of the Universe. Is there any sense in this or is blissful ignorance better? In 3 years, the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) telescope (or rather, a system of telescopes) should be put into operation. In case of failure to detect...
View full post »
Thread 'Could gamma-ray bursts have an intragalactic origin?'

Thread 'Could gamma-ray bursts have an intragalactic origin?'

This is indirectly evidenced by a map of the distribution of gamma-ray bursts in the night sky, made in the form of an elongated globe. And also the weakening of gamma radiation by the disk and the center of the Milky Way, which leads to anisotropy in the possibilities of observing gamma-ray bursts. My line of reasoning is as follows: 1. Gamma radiation should be absorbed to some extent by dust and other components of the interstellar medium. As a result, with an extragalactic origin, fewer...
View full post »

Thread 'Could fast radio bursts be alien radar signals?'

Both have short pulses of emission and a wide spectral bandwidth, covering a wide variety of frequencies: "Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs) are detected over a wide range of radio frequencies, including frequencies around 1400 MHz, but have also been detected at lower frequencies, particularly in the 400–800 MHz range. Russian astronomers recently detected a powerful burst at 111 MHz, expanding our understanding of the FRB range. Frequency Ranges: 1400 MHz: Many of the known FRBs have been detected...
View full post »

Similar threads

I Ultraluminous X-ray source in the galaxy NGC 55
Replies
0
Views
1K
Stargazing Merger of two black holes (video)
Replies
7
Views
3K
A Where to find black hole datasets
Replies
11
Views
2K
I Are Cosmic Rays Actually Neutrinos?
Replies
4
Views
2K
B What is the significance of the record-breaking Gamma-Ray Burst GRB221009A?
Replies
12
Views
3K
B Neutron star 4U 1820-30 spins at 716 revolutions per second
Replies
0
Views
2K
I What do high-mass X-ray binaries, or HMXBs, tell us?
Replies
1
Views
2K
I Where Are the Missing Black Holes in the Milky Way?
2
Replies
87
Views
9K
I Large Bipolar radio bubbles in the Galactic Centre
Replies
1
Views
2K
B Unsolved Mystery: Where Do These X-Rays Come From?
Replies
4
Views
2K

Hot Threads

Recent Insights

Back
Top