Indian scientists decode mysterious signal pattern coming from deep space
They found a repeating pattern: a few hundred seconds of dim X-ray light, followed by a similar period of bright light. During the brighter phases, they discovered something remarkable — fast X-ray flickers occurring 70 times per second, known as Quasi-periodic Oscillations (QPOs). These flickers vanished during the dimmer phases.The team traced this rapid flickering to the corona, a superheated cloud of plasma surrounding the black hole. During the bright phases, the corona becomes smaller and hotter, generating strong QPOs.In the dim phases, it cools and expands, causing the flickers to disappear.The black hole is part of a binary system, pulling matter from a companion star into a hot spinning disc. As this matter heats up, it emits X-rays — the signals that AstroSat captures.This study, published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, provides scientists with a deeper insight into black hole environments.The findings showcase India's growing capabilities in space-based astronomy and the powerful role of AstroSat as a cosmic observatory.- EndsTrending Reel
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