Russian Space Telescope Captures Thermonuclear Blast On Neutron Star In Galactic Center

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 16th October, 2019) The Russian telescope on the Spektr-RG space observatory has recorded a thermonuclear explosion on a neutron star in the center of The Milky Way, a spokesperson of the Space Research Institute of the Russian academy of Sciences (IKI) told Sputnik.

"In August-September, the ART-XC telescope observed the Galactic Center. The telescope recorded two neutron stars that are rather close to each other," the spokesperson explained on Wednesday, adding that "during the observation we saw a thermonuclear explosion on one of them."

The Spektr-RG space observatory is a joint Russian-German project. The observatory carries two unique X-ray telescopes: the ART-XC, developed by IKI and the Russian Federal Nuclear Center; and the eROSITA telescope built by Germany's Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics (MPE).

According to Russian space agency Roscosmos, Spektr-RG is expected to reach its destination point, located 1.5 million kilometers away from Earth, on October 21.

Spektr-RG will map major structures in the observable Universe in X-rays, with the aim of finding out more about dark matter, black holes, white dwarfs and star formation in general.