What simply occurred? A world group of researchers have found a cosmic anomaly not like something beforehand witnessed. The item in query, situated roughly 15,000 light-years away in our very personal Milky Approach galaxy, has been noticed emitting each radio waves and X-ray radiation.
The celestial physique, dubbed ASKAP J1832- 0911, was initially discovered by astronomers utilizing the Australian Sq. Kilometer Array Pathfinder (ASKAP), a radio telescope situated in Australia. One other look utilizing NASA’s Chandra X-Ray telescope discovered the item additionally emitted X-rays in an uncommon but predictable sample.
Each 44 minutes, the item flashes each radio waves and X-rays for 2 minutes straight.
Crew chief Zieng (Andy) Wang mentioned the item is not like something they’ve seen earlier than, though its origins are probably not as mysterious as one may initially assume.
Wang mentioned the item may very effectively be what’s left of a lifeless star with highly effective magnetic fields, known as a magnetar – or maybe one thing so simple as a pair of stars in a binary system during which one of many two is a extremely magnetized white dwarf.
Then once more, neither clarification totally explains precisely what astronomers are witnessing with its conduct so the jury remains to be out. Conversely, Wang added, the invention may very well be a brand new sort of physics or a contemporary mannequin of stellar evolution we’ve not seen earlier than.
NASA’s Chandra X-ray observatory launched into area means again in 1999 and has been orbiting Earth ever since. The ASKAP radio telescope array has been operational since 2012, and consists of 36 large antennas – every measuring 39 toes in diameter – that work collectively as one device.
Additional research will probably be wanted to assist astronomers higher perceive precisely what they’re . At 15,000 light-years away, the item is considerably close by within the grand scheme of the universe however nonetheless fairly far-off in precise distance. For reference, one light-year is roughly equal to 6 trillion miles.
The group’s analysis has been printed within the journal Nature and is titled, “Detection of X-ray Emission from a Brilliant Lengthy-Interval Radio Transient.”
