學生們利用美國宇航局小行星探測器的數(shù)據(jù)，發(fā)現(xiàn)了新的黑洞

學生們利用美國宇航局小行星探測器的數(shù)據(jù)，發(fā)現(xiàn)了新的黑洞

NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft has spent the majority of its life studying the near-Earth asteroid Bennu. It was tasked with traveling to the asteroid, orbiting it, and eventually snatching samples so it could return that material to Earth. Spotting distant black holes wasn’t initially part of the plan, but as NASA explains in a new blog post, the probe’s observations of Bennu were hiding a secret that was uncovered by university students who were scouring the data.

美國宇航局的“奧西里斯-雷克斯”宇宙飛船，花了它生命的大部分時間來研究近地小行星本努。它的任務是前往小行星，繞其軌道運行，并最終獲取樣本，以便將這些物質(zhì)送回地球。發(fā)現(xiàn)遙遠的黑洞最初并不是計劃的一部分，但正如美國宇航局在一篇新的博客文章中解釋的那樣，探測器對本努的觀測隱藏了一個秘密，這個秘密是由正在搜索數(shù)據(jù)的大學生們發(fā)現(xiàn)的。

The REXIS instrument installed on OSIRIS-REx detected the distant black hole during an observation attempt long before it arrived at the asteroid. It spotted x-rays being emitted from a previously undiscovered object some 30,000 light-years away. After additional study, that newfound object is now believed to be a black hole.

安裝在奧西里斯-雷克斯上的REXIS儀器在一次觀測中發(fā)現(xiàn)了這個遙遠的黑洞，這比它到達小行星早得多。它發(fā)現(xiàn)了3萬光年外一個此前未被發(fā)現(xiàn)的物體發(fā)射出的x射線。經(jīng)過進一步的研究，這個新發(fā)現(xiàn)的物體現(xiàn)在被認為是一個黑洞。

Other scientists were able to spot the same object and help in its identification. NASA explains:

其他科學家也發(fā)現(xiàn)了同樣的物體，并幫助鑒定。NASA解釋道:

The glowing object turned out to be a newly flaring black hole X-ray binary – discovered just a week earlier by Japan’s MAXI telescope – designated MAXI J0637-430. NASA’s Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER) telescope also identified the X-ray blast a few days later.

這個發(fā)光的物體原來是一個新的黑洞X射線雙星，一周前被日本MAXI望遠鏡發(fā)現(xiàn)，命名為MAXI J0637-430。美國宇航局的中子星內(nèi)部合成探測器(NICER)望遠鏡也在幾天后發(fā)現(xiàn)了X射線爆炸。

“Detecting this X-ray burst is a proud moment for the REXIS team. It means our instrument is performing as expected and to the level required of NASA science instruments,” Madeline Lambert, an MIT graduate student who helped discover the black hole, said in a statement.

“探測到這一X射線爆發(fā)對雷克斯團隊來說是一個值得驕傲的時刻。這意味著我們的儀器正按預期運行，達到了美國宇航局科學儀器所要求的水平。”幫助發(fā)現(xiàn)黑洞的麻省理工學院研究生馬德琳·蘭伯特(Madeline Lambert)在一份聲明中說。

“We set out to train students how to build and operate space instruments,” MIT professor Richard Binzel, added. “It turns out, the greatest lesson is to always be open to discovering the unexpected.”

麻省理工學院教授理查德·賓澤爾(Richard Binzel)補充道：“我們開始培訓學生如何建造和操作太空儀器。”。“事實證明，最重要的一課就是要時刻保持開放的心態(tài)，去發(fā)現(xiàn)那些意想不到的事情。”

The OSIRIS-REx mission is ongoing, and the spacecraft’s trip back to Earth with its sample payload will take years. At present, it’s expected to return its samples in late September of 2023, so we still have a long way to go before scientists can study the asteroid material up close.

“歐西里斯-雷克斯”號的任務仍在進行中，飛船帶著樣本載荷返回地球的旅程將需要數(shù)年時間。目前，它有望在2023年9月下旬返回樣本，因此，在科學家們能夠近距離研究小行星物質(zhì)之前，我們還有很長的路要走。