Astronomers find clues to the origin of energetic cosmic X-ray flashes

• Fast X-ray Transients (FXTs) are a new class of brief, non-repeating, low-energy X-ray bursts lasting minutes to hours.
• Indian astronomers at the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA), Bengaluru — an autonomous body under the Department of Science & Technology (DST) — have traced FXT EP241107a (detected 7 Nov 2024) to either a massive star collapse or neutron-star merger.
• Examinable as a Science & Tech (GS-III) current-affairs item: links Indian astronomy infrastructure (Hanle, GMRT) with a frontier high-energy astrophysics problem.