Discovery

Astronomers may have found a missed class of ultra-bright X-ray sources

Discovery · Universetoday · Monday, September 21, 2026

Researchers describe unusually soft but luminous X-ray emitters that do not fit the familiar categories.

Image of M101, the Pinwheel Galaxy, one of the homes of some of the HSSs. Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/Univ. of Alabama/M. Muhibullah et al.; Optical: NASA/ESA/STScI; Image Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/N. Wolk

Researchers have identified a possible group of ultra-bright X-ray sources with unusually soft spectra. They do not fit the familiar categories, and may add a previously overlooked population to the high-energy sky.

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