Figure 12-21 The Light Curve of an X-ray Burster This illustration and graph show the history of a typical X-ray burster. A burster emits a constant low intensity of X-rays interspersed with occasional powerful X-ray bursts. This burst was recorded on September 28, 1975, by an Earth-orbiting X-ray telescope. Contrast this figure with Figure 12-20, which shows a typical nova.