NICER Data on High-Mass Binary (IMAGE)

NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center

NICER Data on High-Mass Binary

Caption

GX 301-2, a high mass X-ray binary, is a system in which a massive, aging star's dense wind is drawn toward the strong gravity of a neutron star. The column of falling material emits X-rays, dominated at certain times by the fluorescent glow of atoms of heavy metals such as iron and nickel. NICER's X-ray detectors measure the energies (or colors) of X-ray photons - the technique of spectroscopy -- to determine the chemical makeup and density of the accreting material in this 1,200-second exposure.

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NASA

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