A detailed x-ray of space indicates mysterious spots in the universe (3 photos)

Space exploration withUsing orbital observatories, it reached a qualitatively new stage after the launch of the Russian-German Spektr-RG station last summer. When studying deep space, the station uses an X-ray energy range of 0.3-30 kiloelectron-volts (keV). Less than a year after the station started from Earth (July 13, 2019), astronomers received the first data and were able to compile the most detailed color map of the Universe in the X-ray spectrum.

Commenting on the image received from spaceSpectrum RG observatory, astronomers note that in the picture you can see the standard processes occurring in the Universe: the movement of matter, the change in temperature of matter, the formation of stars as a result of an explosion, and even “see” black holes.

X-ray observation is carried out withThe Spektr-RG station, located 1.5 million km from Earth, using the eRosita telescope (extended ROentgen Survey with an Imaging Telescope Array), created by scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics (MPE) from Germany.

The observatory was put into a given orbit inDecember 2019, after which data began to arrive on Earth that made it possible to compile a unique map of the Universe, photographed in the X-ray range, on which more than one million sources of X-ray radiation can be observed. As a result, in less than a year, the amount of data on fluoroscopy of the Universe received by earthlings over the past 60 years, since space was studied using X-rays, was doubled.

When forming the image of the universe wasAitov projection used to obtain maps of the Earth is used. On the presented X-ray map of space, our Milky Way galaxy is located clearly along the equator and visually represents a black strip formed due to the absorption of starry dust of both X-ray and optical radiation.

To correctly "read" the map of the Universe inX-ray range, astronomers talked about a peculiar color key in the photograph. It turned out that each color corresponds to radiation of a certain energy range. Colors are conditional and do not correspond to optical color images that vary in frequency.

For example, a blue image on an x-rayThe map corresponds to the energy range of photons in the range of 1-2.3 keV, and this is inherent in matter heated to a temperature of 10 to 25 million degrees Kelvin. A range of 0.6-1 keV or a temperature of a substance from 60 to 10 million degrees is associated with green, and the coldest parts of space, 0.3-0.6 keV or a temperature range of 3 to 6 million degrees are associated with red.

In the center of the picture, on the border of the Milky Waythere is a green-yellow giant "mushroom". This is a cloud of hot gas. Meanwhile, small bright points are photographs of supernova explosions. Also, astronomers associate small stars on the map with the image of neutron stars and even black holes. According to astronomers, the size of the mushroom-shaped gas cloud is at least 8 parsecs in diameter or over 26 light years in diameter.

Also in the picture, astronomers discovered a cluster of supernovae, where there are the remains of one of the Vela supernovae closest to the earth, the distance to which is only 800 light-years.

Using data from the Spectrum RG observatory, scientists will be able to discover the frequency of space catastrophes, study supernova explosions, and most importantly, actually see black holes and estimate their number.

"See" black holes in the x-ray spectrumthe process of heating matter absorbed by a space object helps. Previously, astronomers could not see black holes in the optical spectrum and recorded them only by the behavior of neighboring cosmic bodies.

Space Laboratory "Spectrum-RG" in the coming3.5 years will spend seven more full scans of the universe, which will clarify the resulting map of the world, removing noise, noise and identifying sources of weak x-ray radiation. A study classifies certain objects with masses above a certain limit. Currently, scientists have identified about 10 thousand of these sites, but according to the results of the Spectrum-RG scan, they plan to bring this number to 100 thousand. The Spectrum RG Observatory operates using the German eRosita telescope and the Russian ART-XC.

Source: bbc