Flaring source in NGC 6540
Date: 10 August 2018
Satellite: XMM-Newton
Copyright: ESA/XMM-Newton; A. De Carlo (INAF)
A peculiar X-ray source spotted in the globular cluster NGC 6540 as part of a collaboration between scientists at the National Institute of Astrophysics (INAF) in Milan, Italy, and a group of students from a local high school.
In 2005, ESA's XMM-Newton saw this source undergo a flare that boosted the luminosity of the source by up to 50 times its normal level for about five minutes.
Too short to be an ordinary stellar flare, but too faint to be linked to a compact object, this event is challenging our understanding of X-ray outbursts.
Last Update: 1 September 2019
