Outbursts from a Massive Star

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Using Chandra, astronomers have discovered the star’s previously hidden companion, which triggers luminous outbursts every 113 days. The spiral galaxy is NGC 4559. Shown at a sharp angle in the composite image, its flat pink and milky blue face tilts toward our upper left. Sitting near the outer edge of the dense spiral, near the center of the frame, is a small group of pink and blue dots. This group is outlined with a white square, enlarged and annotated in supporting images. The smallest pink dot in the square is AT 2016blu, a massive star some 33 times the size of our Sun. For over 15 years astronomers have been watching this star get bright and then dim again in optical light on a regular basis. Chandra’s X-ray observations suggest that a hidden companion object, either a stellar mass black hole or a neutron star, is pulling material from AT 2016blu every 113 days as they orbit one another. This captured material gets so hot that it shines brightly in X-rays. Other pink and blue specks within the white square and enlargement are unresolved stars or star clusters, too distant to be related to the movement of material between AT 2016blu and its hidden but influential neighbor.
X-ray: NASA/CXC/Univ. of Virginia/M. Aghakhanloo et al.; Optical: SDSS; Image Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/P. Edmonds

Using NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory, astronomers have discovered what is triggering repeated outbursts from a giant, unstable star located in the galaxy shown in this image released on Nov. 9, 2026.

The volatile star, known as AT 2016blu, is in the spiral galaxy NGC 4559, located about 30 million light-years from Earth. Astronomers estimate the mass of this star is at least 33 times that of the Sun.

Read more about the discovery.

Image credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/Univ. of Virginia/M. Aghakhanloo et al.; Optical: SDSS; Image Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/P. Edmonds

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