Link Between Fast X-ray Transients & Explosive Death of Massive Stars | NOIRLab

Link Between Fast X-ray Transients & Explosive Death of Massive Stars | NOIRLab

Using a combination of telescopes, including the International Gemini Observatory, funded in part by the U.S. National Science Foundation and operated by the National Science Foundation (NSF) NOIRLab, and the SOAR telescope at Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile, a Program of NSF NOIRLab, astronomers have characterized the closest supernova linked to a fast X-ray transient. The observations reveal that these bright blasts of X-rays may be the result of a ‘failed’ explosive death of a massive star.

Credit:
International Gemini Observatory/CTIO/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Image processing: J. Miller & M. Rodriguez (International Gemini Observatory/NSF NOIRLab), M. Zamani (NSF NOIRLab)
Acknowledgment: PI: J. Rastinejad (Northwestern University)
Motion graphics: Mik Garrison
Duration: 1 minute
Release Date: July 7, 2025

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