October 20, 2019

Artist's concept of MAXI J1820+070's system (Image courtesy John Paice)

An article published in the journal “Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society” reports a study of the black hole MAXI J1820+070, part of an X-ray binary system that includes a normal star to which the black hole steals gas. A team of astronomers coordinated by the British University of Southampton used the HiPERCAM and NICER instruments to detect visible light and X-rays respectively emitted during an outburst activity in 2018. The data collected were used to create a video slowed down ten times to allow astronomers to see the fastest flares and examine the details of that activity.