Bhubaneswar, March 31 -- A team of astronomers from the Raman Research Institute (RRI) has taken a closer look at one of the universe's more puzzling phenomena - unpredictable bursts of high-energy radiation from a distant X-ray source - and uncovered clues that point to a dynamic, constantly shifting cosmic environment.

At the centre of this mystery lies a class of objects known as ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULXs). These systems are powered by extremely dense objects such as black holes or neutron stars that pull in matter from a nearby companion star. As this material spirals inward, it heats up and emits intense X-rays, making ULXs some of the brightest objects in the universe.

Normally, celestial objects follow a natural brightnes...