NICER Science Nuggets
Each week, the NICER team summarizes important scientific activities or results utilizing
data from the NICER mission.
Here are past Science Nuggets listed by topic. A chronological index is also available.
- 09 March 2023: Peculiar X-ray flares in a supermassive black hole binary candidate
- 02 February 2023: Knowing a black hole by its colors
- 12 January 2023: A black-hole awakens after a nearly 25-year nap
- 22 December 2022: A Pair of Telescopes Discerns a Pair of Coronae
- 03 November 2022: NICER assists on first X-ray polarization measurement of a black-hole binary
- 05 May 2022: NICER Feeds a Reverberation Machine
- 7 April 2022: NICER Confirms X-ray "Heartbeats" from IGR J17091-3642
- 31 March 2022: NICER engages in global supermassive black-hole campaign
- 24 March 2022: Anticipating an X-ray heartbeat
- 10 March 2022: Attentive to Accretion Echoes
- 13 January 2022: NICER Probes the Accretion Flow near a Black Hole
- 21 October 2021: Ironing Out a Black Hole Binary
- 14 October 2021: NICER Evidence of a Black-hole Disk Wind
- 23 September 2021: NICER Collaborates on a Spectral and Variability Study of the Blazar Prototype BL Lacertae
- 08 July 2021: NICER Connects the Dots in Accretion States of Black Hole Binaries
- 24 June 2021: NICER Observes the Brightest Black Hole Transient in Over a Decade
- 03 June 2021: NICER Captures the Likely Launch of a Wind by a Supermassive Black Hole
- 01 April 2021: The Transition of GX 339-4
- 25 March 2021: NICER teams up with multi-wavelength facilities to study the Galactic black hole system MAXI J1820+070
- 18 March 2021: NICER Captures the Formation of an X-ray "Corona" around a Supermassive Black Hole after it Shreds a Star
- 18 February 2021: A Changing Look for NICER<
- 11 February 2021: NICER studies a Black Hole Binary in Outburst
- 21 January 2021: A Blazar Blazing
- 22 October 2020: Coordinated Blazar
- 24 September 2020: NICER observes a very bright X-ray flare from an accreting supermassive black hole 400 Million Years Ago
- 17 September 2020: NICER reveals that the X-ray transient MAXI J1348-630 is a Likely Black Hole X-ray binary
- 23 July 2020: NICER Finds a Black Hole in MAXI J1727-203
- 09 July 2020: Type-B QPO detected in NICER observation of MAXI
J1348-630
- 11 June 2020: Paper examines link between outbursts and reflares in
transient LMXBs
- 12 March 2020: X-ray flaring in MAXI J1820+070 probes emission near
black hole
- 20 February 2020: Modeling "reflected" X-rays in NICER data for
Low Mass X-ray Binaries
- 30 January 2020: NICER observes the unusual black hole binary MAXI
J0637-430
- 23 January 2020: NICER catches a "Changing-Look AGN" in then process
of changing
- 06 February 2020: Earth's shadow provides viewing window for V4641 Sgr
- 16 January 2020: Highest frequency QPOs seen by NICER to date reported
from EXO 1846-031
- 05 December 2019: Simultaneous X-ray and Optical observations of
MAXI J1820+070
- 21 November 2019: Recent flaring in GRS 1915+105 shows unusual spectral
signature
- 17 October 2019: Recent AGN flare a member of a new class of
transients
- 29 August 2019: Peering into a clouded black hole
- 20 June 2019: Observations of X-ray
variability used to map accretion disk in Fairall 9
- 23 May 2019: Rapid flare from GRS 1915+105 displays remarkable spectral
features
- 17 May 2019: Record-low flux reported for black-hole binary GRS
1915+105
- 11 April 2019: NICER Observations of the Recurrent Black Hole Transient,
XTE J1908+094
- 28 March 2019: State transition and
radio flare in MAXI J1820+070
- 05 October 2018: The 2018 outburst of MAXI J1820+070 as seen
with NICER
- 28 June 2018: NICER observes 4U 1630-47, a black hole with
frequent outbursts
- 15 June 2018: X-ray emission line reveals warped disk in MAXI
J1535-571
- 07 June 2018: NICER observes unusual variability in GRS
1915+105
- 17 May 2018: NICER/NuSTAR joint fit helps clarify spectrum of
MAXI J1535-571
- 03 May 2018: PhD thesis finds QPO in NICER data of MAXI
J1535-571
- 01 December 2017: Variability characteristics of black-hole
binary GRS 1915+105
- 20 October 2017: NICER observes X-ray flares from Cygnus
X-1
- 22 September 2017: NICER sees a MAXI black hole
- 16 February 2023: Mapping binaries with multiwavelength "echoes"
- 09 February 2023: An Eventual Giant
- 05 January 2023: A Holiday Outburst
- 06 October 2022: X-ray/Radio Correlation Probes Jet Outflows in High-Mass X-ray Binaries
- 15 September 2022: The Rising of XTE J1701-462
- 08 September 2022: Neutron Star Outburst in a Globular Cluster
- 25 August 2022: A New Outburst from a Rosetta Stone Pulsar
- 18 August 2022: NICER Tracks a Faint, Distant, Short-lived Pulsar Outburst
- 11 August 2022: NICER reveals the anomalous fast orbital expansion of the eclipsing pulsar SWIFT J1749.4-2807
- 4 August 2022: Eclipses reveal more than they conceal
- 21 Jul 2022:Accretion features on display in an eclipsing pulsar system
- 14 Jul 2022: Further NICER insights into X-ray bursts and their effects on accretion disks
- 7 Jul 2022: A Pulsar's Eccentric Orbital Habit
- 30 Jun 2022: NICER monitors thermonuclear outbursts in a neutron star binary
- 23 Jun 2022: NICER discovers its 2nd accreting millisecond pulsar in two weeks
- 9 Jun 2022: Probing absorption of X-rays in a neutron-star binary
- 26 May 2022: Reactivation of 4U 1730-22 Observed by NICER
- 17 February 2022: NICER Helps Solve a Hot Neutron Star Puzzle
- 10 February 2022: Accreting on the edge: Witnessing accretion regime transitions on a magnetized neutron star
- 03 February 2022: Using reflection to constrain the radius of a neutron star
- 23 December 2021: Classic accretion-disk phenomena in the brightest giant outburst of 2S 1417-624
- 09 December 2021: NICER Surveys the Explosive Behavior of Aquila X-1
- 25 November 2021: NICER Takes the Pulse of an SMC BeXRB
- 28 October 2021: NICER Monitors an X-ray Pulsar Giant Outburst in Decline
- 30 September 2021: Neutron-Star Spin-up in a "Giant" Outburst
- 26 August 2021: MAXI Triggers NICER Observations of a Superburst's After-effects
- 29 July 2021: NICER Tracks Recovery from a Long-duration Thermonuclear Burst on a Neutron Star
- 15 July 2021: NICER Confirms a Neutron Star Resides in the Historical X-ray Binary 4U 1730-22
- 25 February 2021: NICER TOO Observation of 2S 1553-542
- 04 February 2021: NICER constrains the nature of the companion star in IGR J17494-3030
- 28 January 2021: NICER observes thermonuclear bursts with secondary peaks from the low-mass X-ray binary 4U 1608-52
- 14 January 2021: NICER Tracks Giant Outburst of X-ray Binary 1A 0535+262 to Completion
- 07 January 2021: The Burning Atmosphere
- 26 November 2020: Brightest Outburst from A0535
- 19 November 2020: Unstable Burning
- 29 October 2020: NICER discovers a new millisecond pulsar in an ultracompact orbit
- 02 July 2020: A long-duration X-ray burst from IGR J17062-6143
- 25 June 2020: eROSITA points NICER to a rare X-ray binary outburst in the
Large Magellanic Cloud
- 18 June 2020: Short-duration milliHertz QPO seen in 4U 1636-53
- 28 May 2020: Recent MAXI alert likely triggered by accreting
X-ray binary MAXI J0911-655
- 21 May 2020: B(e) X-ray binary system GRO J1008-57 caught in an
outburst
- 30 April 2020: The NICER-NuSTAR view of the Neutron Star Low-mass
X-ray Binary 4U 1735-44
- 09 April 2020: NICER observes an outburst of the Rapid Burster
- 19 March 2020: Thermonuclear X-ray bursts reveal that Swift
J1858.6-0814 hosts a neutron star
- 27 February 2020: NICER detects Type 1 X-ray bursts from XTE J1739-285
- 19 December 2019: NICER sees bright pulsar in Magellanic bridge
- 28 November 2019: NICER discovers 9.29 sec pulsations in
RX J0209.6-7427
- 31 October 2019: NICER detects multiple bursts from neutron star
MAXI J1807+132
- 24 October 2019: NICER discovers pulsations from new transient
Swift J1845.7-0037
- 03 October 2019: NICER seeks detection of periodicity from re-awakened
XTE J1739-285
- 26 September 2019: An evolving broad iron line from the first Galactic
ultraluminous X-ray pulsar, Swift J0243.6+6124
- 19 September 2019: Unexpected changes detected in burst behavior
from SAX J1808.4-3658
- 12 September 2019: SAX J1808.4-3658 delayed-helium bursts seen
in exquisite detail
- 15 August 2019: NICER observes a secondary peak in a thermonuclear
burst from 4U 1608-52
- 08 August 2019: NICER tracks a new outburst from SAX J1808.4-3658
- 18 July 2019: NICER and NuSTAR simultaneously catch four X-ray
bursts from 4U 1636-536
- 27 June 2019: NICER puts a magnifying glass on a rare outburst
from an accreting pulsar
- 13 June 2019: NICER X-rays the photosphere of a neutron star's
companion
- 09 May 2019: Establishing IGR 17379-3747's large magnetic axis
inclination
- 14 March 2019: X-ray burst shows
evidence of gravitational redshifting from neutron star
- 07 March 2019: NICER takes part
in a large multiwavelength campaign on Sco X-1
- 20 December 2018: Brightening in Circinus X-1 reveals
outflowing wind
- 14 December 2018: NICER demonstrates readiness to provide
long-term timing for unusual accreting pulsar
- 20 September 2018: Accreting MSP IGR J17591-2342 continues to
brighten
- 30 August 2018: NICER and NuSTAR jointly discover that IGR
J17591-2342 is in a binary system
- 16 August 2018: NICER discovers oscillatory nuclear burning
in LMXP GS 1826-238
- 26 July 2018: Rarely visible accreting pulsar observed in
2018 outburst
- 05 July 2018: NICER observes unusual burst oscillations in 4U
1728-34
- 21 June 2018: Joint NICER/GBM observations of the first
Galactic ULX pulsar
- 01 June 2018: NICER detects a soft X-ray kilohertz QPO in 4U
0614+09
- 10 May 2018: A NICER look at the Aql X-1 hard state
- 26 April 2018: Pulsar and orbital periodicities discovered in
IGR J17062-6143
- 19 April 2018: NICER detects multiple "reflection" features in
the low-mass X-ray binary Serpens X-1
- 12 April 2018: NICER discovers a new pulsar in IGR
J17379-3747
- 05 April 2018: NICER sees an accreting millisecond pulsar
- 16 March 2018: Oscillations detected in the rise phase of a
Type I X-ray burst
- 09 February 2018: Spectral timing of Aquila X-1
- 02 February 2018: NICER observes rare short-recurrence X-ray
bursts
- 23 January 2018: Intensity changes in the observed pulsed
flux from Swift J0243.6+6124
- 21 December 2017: Marginally-stable burning observed in the
LMXB system GS 1826-24
- 27 October 2017: NICER helps determine orbit of
newly-discovered neutron star
- 13 October 2017: NICER sees neutron star superexpansion
burst in unprecedented detail
- 23 February 2023: Radio Silence from a Magnetar During an X-ray Outburst
- 24 November 2022: A new link between neutron star spin and emission events
- 20 October 2022: Observing an Outburst from the Fast Radio Burst source SGR 1935+2154 with NICER
- 21 April 2022: An X-ray outburst from a radio-loud magnetar after 13 years of quiescence
- 30 December 2021: A new X-ray phenomenon revealed in a magnetar through near-daily NICER observations
- 11 November 2021: NICER Hones In On the Origin of Short Bursts from Magnetars
- 16 September 2021: NICER Monitoring of a New Magnetar Explores its Unusually Long-Lived Activity
- 10 June 2021: A new magnetar, Swift J1555.2-5402, confirmed and monitored with NICER
- 12 November 2020: NICER confirmation of the magnetar nature of SGR 1830-0645: Spindown, spectra, and short bursts
- 05 November 2020: FR/GR/B
- 15 October 2020: Taking the Pulse of a Magnetar
- 10 September 2020: A NICER View of the 2020 outburst of PSR J1846-0258
- 03 September 2020: NICER Observations of Swift J1818.0-1607: a Missing Link between Magnetars and Rotation-Powered
- 07 May 2020: NICER detection of the burst forest from the magnetar SGR
1935+2154
- 26 March 2020: A new magnetar, Swift J1818.0-1607, offers clues to neutron
star evolution
- 15 February 2019: A new outburst from magnetar XTE J1810-197
- 19 October 2018: Rapid follow-up of bright, short bursts from
SGR 1806-20
- 01 March 2018: NICER detects changes in magnetar 1E
1048.9-5937
- 02 March 2023: Delayed X-ray Brightening at Magnetic Loop Footpoints in Two Superflares from a Young Sun-like Star
- 28 Jul 2022: NICER Reveals The Shocking and Explosive Nature of the Superstar Eta Carinae
- 19 May 2022: Observing a Pulsar and Finding Oxygen Around Earth
- 06 January 2022: NICER Detects Neutral or Nearly Neutral Oxygen Line From Earth's Atmosphere
- 02 December 2021: Swapping Charge with the Sun
- 20 August 2020: The Rising
- 09 January 2020: NICER observes Betelgeuse in response to recent dimming
- 02 May 2019: NICER evaluates X-ray environment near Sun-like stars
- 07 February 2019: MAXI-triggered observations of stellar flares yield
rapid NICER results
- 24 January 2019: Joint observations catch stellar flare from
UX Ari from radio to X-rays
- 06 December 2018: NICER planning to "X-ray" the Solar
System
- 01 November 2018: NICER watches a flare from a nearby stellar
system
- 29 November 2018: NICER follow-up observations of a MAXI
flare from UX Ari
- 12 July 2018: The Demon Star winked in X-rays
- 28 December 2017: Massive star studied by NICER topic for a
question on Jeopardy
- 15 December 2017: NICER sees X-ray flares from cataclysmic
variable TT Arietis
- 08 December 2017: Observations of stellar flares illuminate magnetism in young stars
- 23 March 2023: With a Swift assist, MAXI and NICER uncover a new candidate black-hole
- 01 December 2022: An exceptional black-hole jet revealed in a multi-wavelength view of a star's destruction
- 17 November 2022: Highly variable X-ray emission from a doomed star
- 10 November 2022: NICER Identifies an X-ray Transient
- 27 October 2022: Formation of an X-ray "corona" around a supermassive black hole 3 years after it destroyed a star
- 13 October 2022: OHMAN Alerts NICER to an Unprecedented Celestial Explosion
- 16 Jun 2022: NICER discovers millisecond pulsations from the new transient MAXI J1816-195
- 12 May 2022: NICER Disentangles Adjacent X-ray Emitters
- 24 February 2022: A Relativistic Jet from a Shredded Star 7 Billion Light Years Away
- 27 January 2022: NICER homes in on a new MAXI source discovery
- 20 January 2022: Last Gasp of an Unfortunate Star?
- 02 September 2021: NICER & Friends Uncover a Pulsar Orbit
- 22 July 2021: NICER Glimpses a Newborn Compact Object 200 million Light Years Away
- 27 May 2021: Successful Application of NICER's New Sky Scanning Capability
- 06 May 2021: X-ray quasi-periodic eruptions from two previously quiescent galaxies
- 29 April 2021: NICER Discovers Pulsations from MAXI J0903-531
- 11 March 2021: A NICER First Look at the New X-ray Transient IGR J17533-2928
- 24 December 2020: A star ripped apart?
- 13 August 2020: A Pulsar in Transition?
- 16 July 2020: NICER Observations of Stellar Death by Black Hole
- 07 November 2019: MAXI points NICER to a new brightening source
- 05 September 2019: NICER makes its first detection of a GRB afterglow
- 01 August 2019: EXO 1846-031 reawakens after 34-year silence
- 30 May 2019: NICER sees X-rays from star in another galaxy getting ripped
apart
- 18 April 2019: NICER Observations of a Possible SN 1a: AT2019daj
- 04 April 2019: Follow-up of MAXI triggers provides new insight into
transient events
- 31 January 2019: NICER follows up on a bonanza of
MAXI-discovered Galactic black hole systems
- 17 January 2019: Combined X-ray data uncovers a new class of
transient AGN flares
- 15 November 2018: Observations of new X-ray transient show
intense flaring episodes
- 08 November 2018: Unexplained X-ray transient event in active
galaxy observed by NICER
- 24 May 2018: Target of Opportunity observations of new
transient ASASSN-18el
- 22 March 2018: Quasi-periodic oscillation detected in new
transient MAXI 1820+070
- 29 September 2017: Periodic variations in a MAXI black hole
candidate
NICER Science Nuggets
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