X-ray

Black holes are notoriously dark objects, but now astronomers have spotted strange light coming from behind one. The X-ray echoes seem to be the result of the intense gravity of the object warping space and bending the light back around into view.

Japanese astronomers have discovered the echoes of a “dying” supermassive black hole. While the object is quiet now, the team spotted the signatures of two huge radio jets that indicate it only recently fell silent after a bright, active phase.

Astronomers have identified the remains of a rare type of supernova in our home galaxy for the first time. These events, known as Type Iax supernovae, occur when white dwarfs explode and may leave behind a “zombie star.”

Astronomers have detected a strange signal coming from neutron stars that could be a new elementary particle. An unexplained excess of X-rays hints at axions, hypothetical “ghost” particles that could solve several long-standing physics puzzles.

Presently, if someone has been involved in a potentially bone-breaking mishap, they have to be X-rayed by trained staff at a hospital. Soon, however, it may be possible for them to perform their own X-rays, using a compact device that could be located just about anywhere.

Engineers at Brookhaven National Laboratory have designed a strange new X-ray microscope that takes advantage of the spooky world of quantum physics to “ghost image” biomolecules in high resolution but at a lower radiation dose.

A new X-ray scanner adds color and a third dimension, creating high resolution, cutaway 3D models that can diagnose bone fractures and monitor healing. A feasibility study of the machine has now been conducted, with a larger trial set to begin soon.

One of the ways physicians can gain some forewarning of impending heart failure is through the detection of excess fluid in the lungs, and MIT researchers have developed a new machine learning tool that could offer them a helping hand.

A new “Sonification” project from NASA's Chandra X-ray Center has translated visual data into sound, letting us hear the center of the Milky Way, the supernova remnant Cassiopeia A, and the Pillars of Creation nebula.

We may be a step closer to understanding the mystery of fast radio bursts (FRBs), as astronomers have now detected the first such signal from within our own galaxy. It was traced to a magnetar, which could be key to unlocking the origins of FRBs.

The Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) is an extremely powerful X-ray laser – and now it's about to get even more powerful. The second generation of the instrument has now achieved first light, with scientists demonstrating fine control of the beam.

A newly released map shows our home galaxy in a new light. The eROSITA telescope has scanned the entire sky in X-rays, painting a colorful portrait that reveals large-scale structures and hundreds of thousands of previously unknown X-ray sources.