Ever wondered what cosmic fireworks look like? Since its launch in January 2024, China's Einstein Probe (EP) has been on a mission to catch the universe's most fleeting X-ray flashes – and trust us, the results are mind-blowing! 🚀
Led by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, EP uses two X-ray telescopes: a Wide-field X-ray Telescope (WXT) that scans a huge chunk of the sky at once with its cool lobster-eye optics 🦞, and a Follow-up X-ray Telescope (FXT) that zooms in for the details. This dream team lets scientists spot and study events from seconds to months-long light shows!
One of the standout finds? EP241021a – a 'slow-motion' cosmic firework that lasted over 40 days and shot out a relativistic jet. Imagine a star ripped apart by a black hole or a rare supernova giving us a front-row seat to extreme physics! 🌟
Back in September 2024, EP also caught EP240904a, an ultra-faint X-ray burst inside our Milky Way. Its X-ray heartbeat and follow-up radio/infrared data revealed a hidden black hole candidate lurking in the dark. Talk about uncovering the universe's best-kept secrets! 🖤
And let's not forget EP240801a, a soft X-ray flash that triggered on-board follow-up in real time. By tagging this event and tracking its X-ray evolution autonomously, EP showed it's a pro at cosmic monitoring. 🔍
Bottom line: EP is rewriting the story of the high-energy universe, from sneaky black holes to explosive events. Stay tuned – the next cosmic firework might be just around the corner! ✨
Reference(s):
cgtn.com
