China has once again demonstrated the importance of the Einstein observatory in understanding the universe. With its X-ray sensors, the space telescope recorded a brief but very intense flash. The unprecedented transient phenomenon could indicate that a distant object is undergoing extreme energetic processes that astronomers are not yet aware of.
An unprecedented flash. On April 8, while making calibration observations, the Einstein Telescope at the China National Center for Space Sciences (CAS) recorded a distant object emitting an incredibly intense flash of X-rays.
The phenomenon lasted just 12 seconds, but it caused the brightness of the object, called EP240408a, to multiply by 300. The amount of energy released in such a short time was spectacular, judging by the intense flux of X-rays.
Then he disappeared. After the initial flash, the object maintained a relatively stable X-ray emission for four days, followed by a rapid decrease in intensity until it became undetectable ten days later.
Most intriguingly, astronomers did not detect similar emissions in the visible and near-infrared wavelengths, even though they began tracking them only 17 hours after the initial burst.
What the hell was that? Spectral analysis of EP240408a revealed that the X-ray emission could not be of thermal origin. The conclusion is that it could be a new type of transient event, an astronomical phenomenon that encompasses rapid and extreme physical processes observed in the universe.
China has demonstrated the sensitivity of the Einstein observatory, a project that has identified more than 60 transient events so far. They include white dwarfs, neutron stars, black holes, supernovae, and gamma ray bursts. Among the latter is EP240315a, a burst that the Einstein telescope managed to detect at an incredible distance: 25.6 billion light years.
Image | CAS
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