NuSTAR Spotted Black Holes Emitting Powerful High-Energy X-rays

The NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array or NuSTAR have identified large numbers of black holes emitting powerful high-energy X-rays. The astronomers called this the cosmic X-ray background wherein there is a song of X-rays coming from a chorus of millions of black holes that fills the whole sky.

Fiona Harrison, the principal investigator of NuSTAR at Caltech in Pasadena and the lead author of the study explained that they have gone from resolving just two percent of the high-energy X-ray background to 35 percent. She further said that they can see the most obscured black holes, hidden in thick gas and dust. The findings of the study will be published in the upcoming issue of The Astrophysical Journal, according to NASA.

The results of the study will aid the scientists to comprehend how the feeding patterns of supermassive black holes change over time. This is the principal factor in the growth of both the black holes and galaxies that host them.

When the black holes grow, their powerful gravity pulls matter toward them. The matter warmth to burning temperatures and the particles get boosted close to the speed of light. Then, the black hole belted out with X-rays.

A supermassive black hole that has abundant fuel or gas will emit more high-energy X-rays. Meanwhile, the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way galaxy is dormant now. On the other hand, at some point in the past, it too would have drawn off the gas and bulked up in size, according to NASA.

With the help of NuStar, the astronomers can study the black holes on how they evolve and change over time. They can also find answers to questions such as, 'When did they start and stop feeding?" and "What is the distribution of the gas and dust that both feed and hide the black holes?"

NuSTAR is the first orbiting telescope that focuses in the high-energy X-rays into sharp pictures. It can view deeper views of what's going on inside the black holes as well as the gas and dust around the black holes. Daniel Stern, the project specialist for NuStar at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California said that thanks to NuSTAR, they can gain a better understanding of the black holes and starting to address some questions.