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ULX in M51 Animations

A Quick Look at an Ultraluminous X-ray Source (ULX) in M51
(Credit: NASA/CXC/A. Hobart)
[Runtime: 1:08]

Astronomers have used Chandra data to determine that an ultraluminous X-ray source (ULX) contains a neutron star.

This ULX is located in M51, which is also known as the Whirlpool galaxy, located about 30 million light years from Earth.

ULXs are extremely bright sources of X-rays, first discovered by astronomers in the 1980s.

This new result helps provide clues as to how ULXs shine so brightly in X-rays.




Return to Supermassive Black Holes Are Outgrowing Their Galaxies (February 15, 2018)