Astronomers have detected a mysterious object in deep space that releases intense bursts of radio waves and X-rays, according to a new study.
The study, published on Wednesday in the journal Nature, stated that the object, named ASKAP J1832-0911, is located around 15,000 light-years from the Earth within the Milky Way.
Astronomers from the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR), working with global partners, stated that the object emits pulses lasting two minutes every 44 minutes, but the reason for these unusual, regular intervals remains unclear.
It is the first time a so-called long-period transient (LPT) has been observed emitting both high-energy X-rays and low-energy radio waves.
According to the study, long-period radio transients, recently detected thanks to improved telescopes, emit signals over tens of minutes and defy traditional pulsar models, challenging astrophysicists to better understand their nature.
“This object is unlike anything we have seen before,” lead author Ziteng Wang said.
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Researchers stated that the object may be either a magnetar, a dead star’s core with strong magnetic fields, or part of a binary system where one star is a highly magnetized white dwarf in its final evolutionary stage.
“However, even those theories do not fully explain what we are observing. This discovery could indicate a new type of physics or new models of stellar evolution,” Wang said.
Researchers noted that finding one such object suggests many more may exist, and the detection of its transient X-ray emission offers new insights into their mysterious nature.
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