OSIRIS-REx Observes a Black Hole

University students and researchers working on a NASA mission orbiting a near-Earth asteroid have made an unexpected detection of a phenomenon 30,000 light-years away. Last fall, the student-built Regolith X-Ray Imaging Spectrometer (REXIS) aboard NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft detected a newly flaring black hole in the constellation Columba while making observations off the limb of asteroid Bennu. The glowing object turned out to be a newly flaring black hole X-ray binary – discovered just a week earlier by Japan’s MAXI telescope – designated MAXI J0637-430.Music is "Castles and Cathedrals" from Universal Production Music.Video credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight CenterJames Tralie (ADNET):Lead ProducerLead EditorNarratorBrittany Enos (University of Arizona):Lead WriterJohn Caldwell (AIMM):VideographerRob Andreoli (AIMM):VideographerRichard Binzel (MIT):ScientistBranden Allen (Harvard):ScientistAaron E. Lepsch (ADNET):Technical Support