Solving the mysteries of enigmatic binary star system Cygnus X-3
Tuesday, December 8, 2009 - 01:22
in Astronomy & Space
Deep in our Galaxy, approximately 30,000 light-years from Earth, a small gravitational monster is sucking matter from a companion star, causing the infalling matter to violently radiate X-rays and occasionally be launched to form radio-wave-emitting jets that emanate close to the speed of light. This enigmatic binary star system, known as Cygnus X-3, has fascinated astronomers over four decades. It is thought to be either a small black hole or a neutron star and an ordinary, albeit massive star orbiting each other. Now, researchers have made the first definitive detection of high-energy gamma rays from this system. The findings may provide a new window on how Cygnus X-3 accelerates charged particles to enormous energies.