RRI Scientists Probe Rare X-ray Flares from Distant Galaxy

Raman Research Institute scientists analyzed a rare ultraluminous X-ray source in galaxy M74, revealing a wobbling accretion disk around a stellar-mass black hole.
Using Chandra and XMM-Newton data from 2001-2021, researchers found the compact object is a 7-solar-mass black hole, not intermediate-mass.
The study, published in The Astrophysical Journal, explains irregular flares via accretion disk wobbling, challenging previous intermediate-mass black hole theories.