Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/Univ. of Toulouse/M.Bachetti et al, Optical: NOAO/AURA/NSF

Ultraluminous X-ray Sources (ULXs) are objects that produce more X-rays than most "normal" X-ray binary systems, in which a star orbits a neutron star or a stellar-mass black hole. Astronomers used NuSTAR to detect regular variations, or "pulsations," in a ULX known as M82X-2, a source in the center of the M82 galaxy. With its excellent spatial resolution, Chandra was able isolate M82X-2 from another nearby ULX and rule out the contributions from other possible sources unresolved by NuSTAR. This composite image shows X-rays from NuSTAR (purple) and Chandra (blue) that have been combined with optical data from the NRAO 2.1 meter telescope (gold). The data from these two X-ray telescopes show that M82X-2 is not a black hole, but instead the brightest pulsar ever recorded.

Provider: Chandra X-ray Observatory

Image Source: http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2014/m82nu/

Curator: Chandra X-ray Observatory, Cambridge, MA, USA

Image Use Policy: http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/image_use.html