X-ray astronomers have reported a bizarre X-ray emitter in the direction of our galactic centre. C Kouveliotou and colleagues have seen this object in the intensity records of the large area detectors of the Burst and Transient Source Experiment on the orbiting Compton Gamma Ray Observatory. The odd thing about this source is that it combines regular oscillating emissions with erratic flashes. The known X-ray sources usually pulse regularly or give out bursts erratically. The acceptable theory of these two kinds of sources assumes that the radiation is emitted when material falls into a superdense neutron star.
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