NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory has recently spotted an unexplainable and “mysterious” flash in the deepest X-ray image of the universe. It is what experts describe as a “completely new type of cataclysmic event” and is coming from a galaxy that is 10.7 billion light years away. The scientists are baffled as it appeared out of nowhere and faded almost immediately.
The source suddenly erupted, exploding in brightness by a factor of 1,000 in just a few hours, according to NASA. It faded in about a day’s time. On the basis of past data from Hubble and Spitzer Space Telescope, researchers concluded that the source was coming from a faint, small galaxy that is about 10.7 billion light years away. The source is apparently thousands of times more energetic than all of the stars in that galaxy.
Possible theories:
Researchers have come up with three explanations for the event.
Explanation 1: The source may be a result of a collapse of a massive star. If not that, then there might be a merger of a neutron star with another neutron star or black hole.
Explanation 2: The source maybe a result of a gamma-ray burst event that lies beyond the small galaxy.
Explanation 3: The source could be from a medium-sized black hole that tore apart a white dwarf star.
However, according to expert Ezequiel Treister of Pontifical Catholic University, none of the above given explanations fit the data perfectly.
