NASA CHANDRA
Baffling 'Supernova Impostor' Unmasked as a Vampiric Black Hole Feeding on a Star
NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory has discovered that a cosmic object faking supernovas every 113 days is actually a compact object feeding on an unstable star.
Astronomers have finally cracked a 15-year cosmic mystery located on the outskirts of the spiral galaxy NGC 4559. Initially mistaken for a supernova explosion when first observed in 2012, the source kept fading and repeatedly bursting into light every 113 days.
Data from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory revealed that this repeating phenomenon is not a dying star's final blast, but rather a luminous, unstable massive star being systematically fed upon by a vampiric black hole or neutron star during close orbital passes.