Azernews.Az

by Alimat Aliyeva

Astronomers using NASA’s NASA Chandra X-ray Observatory have detected unusual activity in the remnants of supernovae within the spiral galaxy Messier 83 (M83), located about 15 million light-years from Earth, AzerNEWS reports.

By analyzing 14 years of archived telescope data, the research team identified unexpected fluctuations in X-ray brightness among objects that were previously thought to be steadily fading clouds of hot gas. Out of 22 studied supernova remnants, nearly half showed dramatic variability, with changes so strong that scientists compared them to “cosmic fireworks.”

To explain this surprising behavior, astronomers have proposed two main hypotheses. The first suggests that the bursts are driven by surviving companion stars in binary systems. After one star explodes, it can leave behind a neutron star or black hole that begins pulling material from its surviving partner, creating irregular bursts of high-energy radiation.

The second theory points to a process informally described as “cosmic recycling,” where a compact object such as a neutron star or black hole re-absorbs part of the material originally ejected during the supernova explosion. This re-accretion could reignite X-ray emissions long after the initial stellar death.

An interesting aspect of the discovery is that similar variable X-ray sources have also been observed in other star-forming galaxies like Messier 51. This suggests that such late-stage “rebrightening” events may be more common than previously thought, especially in galaxies with active star formation.

Scientists also note that these findings challenge the traditional idea that supernova remnants simply fade away over time. Instead, some of them may remain dynamically active for thousands of years, continuing to interact with their surroundings in ways that are only now becoming observable thanks to long-term space-based monitoring.