A colossal black hole nestled in a galaxy within the Virgo constellation is stirring from its long slumber, unleashing striking X-ray flares that have captured the attention of scientists around the globe.

Previously, astronomers paid little mind to galaxy SDSS1335+0728, a staggering 300 million light-years from Earth. However, in 2019, it erupted with unexpected brightness, prompting researchers to turn their telescopes toward this distant cosmic site.

In February of the previous year, Chilean astronomers observed consistent bursts of X-rays emanating from the galaxy—an unmistakable indicator that its dormant black hole was indeed waking up, as detailed in a recent study published in Nature Astronomy.

The Sleeping Giant: A Culinary Encounter!

Most galaxies, including our own Milky Way, are home to supermassive black holes, akin to spiders lurking in their cosmic webs. These astronomical beasts devour everything in their vicinity, with light itself unable to escape their overwhelming grasp. If an unsuspecting star strays too close, it can be torn apart, with its remnants forming an accretion disk that spirals rapidly into the void.

Yet, black holes can also experience extensive stretches of inactivity, lacking the draw to attract nearby matter. After a long period of dormancy, the black hole at the core of SDSS1335+0728 has now been dubbed "Ansky" and classified as an "active galactic nucleus."

"This rare phenomenon presents astronomers with a unique chance to study real-time behavior of a black hole," stated Lorena Hernandez-Garcia, an astronomer at Valparaiso University in Chile.

Quasiperiodic Eruptions: The Mystery Unfolds!

The astonishing bursts of X-rays from Ansky are categorized as quasiperiodic eruptions (QPEs). Hernandez-Garcia emphasizes, "This marks the first instance we’ve witnessed such an event from a black hole that seems to be awakening, and we still don’t fully grasp their origins."

Current hypotheses suggest that QPEs may be connected to the accretion disks formed after black holes consume stars. However, there are no indications that Ansky has recently munched on a star.

In fact, the uniqueness of its flares is striking: "Ansky's X-ray bursts are ten times longer and ten times more luminous than typical QPEs," notes Joheen Chakraborty, a Ph.D. student at MIT involved in the research. "Each eruption releases an astonishing hundred times more energy than seen elsewhere." The intervals of 4.5 days between these explosive events are the longest on record!

Rethinking Models: What’s Causing the Chaos?

Scientists are compelled to think outside the box to explain these bizarre bursts. One theory posits that the accretion disk forms from gas being suctioned into the black hole, producing X-ray flares when a small celestial body crosses its path.

Norbert Schartel, chief scientist of the European Space Agency’s XMM-Newton telescope, elaborates: "Picture a black hole surrounded by an accretion disk. When a star orbits, it crosses the disk twice, ejecting flares, but at an angle that minimizes the gravitational pull to drag it in."

X-ray astronomer Erwan Quintin echoed this sentiment, stating: "For QPEs, we currently have more models than data. We need further observations to truly decipher what's occurring."