Cosmic winds of change

Artist’s impression of the powerful winds blowing from the bright X-ray source GX13+1. The X-rays are coming from a disc of hot matter, known as an accretion disc, that is gradually spiralling down to strike a neutron star’s surface.

X-ray telescope XRISM targeted the source on 25 February 2024 and gathered unprecedentedly detailed data using its Resolve instrument. These data have revealed an unexpected difference between the powerful winds launching from a disc around a neutron star and those from material circling supermassive black holes. The surprisingly dense wind blowing from the stellar system challenges our understanding of how such winds form and drive changes in their surroundings.
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[Image description: The focus of the image is a blue-to-pink disc of swirling material, circling around a sparkling white ball in the centre. Bright rays primarily white to pink rise towards the top of the image, like a wind blowing off the circling matter. To the left of the picture, a yellow to orange ball is partially visible, representing a star. The star appears to be feeding the disc via a stream of orangish matter that connects the two.]