Einstein Probe detects prolonged soft X-ray activity after neutron star merger

The Einstein Probe space telescope has detected nearly 10 minutes of soft X-ray activity following a short gamma-ray burst, ScienceDaily Space & Time and UA.NEWS reported. Short gamma-ray bursts occur when two compact objects, such as neutron stars, spiral together and collide. This prolonged emission reveals a phase of neutron star mergers that earlier space missions may have missed. [1][3]

ScienceDaily Space & Time reported that the extended X-ray activity could have been powered by a newly formed magnetar. The findings may also provide a useful counterpart to gravitational-wave signals generated during these high-energy collisions. [1]

The uncrewed Einstein Probe is an X-ray space observatory developed by the Chinese Academy of Sciences in partnership with the European Space Agency and the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics. A Long March 2C rocket launched the 1,450-kilogram spacecraft from the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre in China on 9 January 2024 at 07:03 UTC. It operates in a low Earth orbit roughly 600 kilometres above Earth with an inclination of 29 degrees. [5][6]

The primary goal of the mission is to discover high-energy transient events and monitor variable astronomical objects across time-domain astrophysics. Observations are conducted exclusively on the night side of each 97-minute orbit, while solar power is collected on the sunlit side during its nominal three-year mission phase. [5][6]