New research suggests that the high velocities of stars in Omega Centauri, the Milky Way's largest star cluster, are likely due to a cluster of stellar-mass black holes rather than a single intermediate-mass black hole (IMBH). By combining data on stellar velocities and pulsar accelerations, scientists from the University of Surrey and collaborators have provided evidence favoring the presence of multiple smaller black holes. This finding helps resolve a long-standing debate and advances the search for IMBHs, which could bridge the gap between stellar-mass and supermassive black holes.
Researchers from the University of Utah and the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy have discovered an intermediate-mass black hole in the Omega Centauri star cluster, a finding likened to discovering Bigfoot due to its rarity. This discovery, published in "Nature," was made by analyzing the motion of 1.4 million stars using over 500 Hubble images. The team plans to further study the black hole using the James Webb Space Telescope.
NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory has observed a group of spider pulsars, rapidly spinning neutron stars, devouring their companion stars in the globular cluster Omega Centauri. The data collected could provide insights into how these cosmic "black widows" erode surrounding stars with intense radiation. The researchers found that redback pulsars, which devour larger stars, are brighter in X-rays than black widow pulsars, which consume smaller stars. The findings highlight the link between the mass of the stars being devoured and the radiation emitted. Chandra's sensitive X-ray vision is crucial for studying spider pulsars and other millisecond pulsars in globular clusters.
NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory has captured data revealing that spider pulsars, a type of millisecond pulsar, are destroying their companion stars through winds of energetic particles. Astronomers discovered 11 millisecond pulsars emitting X-rays in the globular cluster Omega Centauri, with five of them being spider pulsars. The study found a correlation between X-ray brightness and the mass of the companion star, confirming previous work. The close proximity of the companion stars to the pulsars causes significant damage due to the energetic particles. Chandra's sharp X-ray vision is crucial for studying these pulsars in globular clusters.
