Super-soft X-ray Sources in M101 (IMAGE)

Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian

Super-soft X-ray Sources in M101

Caption

In this negative image of the Pinwheel Galaxy (M101), red squares mark the positions of "super-soft" X-ray sources. The Pinwheel should contain hundreds of accreting white dwarfs on which nuclear fusion is occurring, which should produce prodigious X-rays. Yet we only detect a few dozen super-soft X-ray sources. This means that we must devise new methods to search for the elusive progenitors of Type Ia supernovae.

Credit

R. Di Stefano (CfA)

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