Produced by: Tarun Mishra
Astronomers detected a rare and extremely bright X-ray outburst in the Small Magellanic Cloud, a nearby dwarf galaxy, using the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory and other telescopes.
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This event is only the second time such a luminous outburst has been observed in a white dwarf binary star system, shedding light on a previously mysterious phenomenon.
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The system responsible for this nova, named CXOU J005245.0–722844, is one of only seven known Be/White Dwarf X-ray binary systems. These involve a white dwarf orbiting a hot young star surrounded by a disk of stellar material.
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Unlike typical novae, this explosion was not only exceptionally bright but also short in duration, with visible light lasting under a week and X-rays visible for just under two weeks.
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The nova eruption was triggered by a thermonuclear reaction on the white dwarf's surface, following the accumulation of material from its companion star. The reaction is akin to a massive hydrogen bomb explosion.
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Observations from Swift and other instruments tracked the nova’s emission across various wavelengths, providing valuable data on the light curve and behavior of this rare event.
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Despite predictions, very few Be/White Dwarf binaries have been observed, and the outburst offers an opportunity to investigate why these systems remain so elusive.
Credit: NASA
Follow-up observations are essential to further understand the physics behind this outburst and uncover why these high-energy systems are rarer than expected.
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