Australian scientists say they have discovered a spinning object in the Milky Way that they say is unlike anything seen before.
As they have observed, the object – discovered by a university student – releases a colossal burst of electromagnetic radiation during one full minute every 18 minutestyou.
Researchers frequently report objects that pulsate energy in the universe. But, they say, something that stays on for a minute is highly unusual.
The team is now working to understand the find in greater depth.
unexpected and creepy
The object was discovered by Curtin University student Tyrone O’Doherty with the Murchison Widefield Array telescope in the outback of Western Australia, using a new technique developed by himself.
O’Doherty is part of a team led by astrophysicist Natasha Hurley-Walker, a member of the Curtin University branch of the International Center for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR).
“It appeared and disappeared for a few hours during our observations,” says the ICRAR press release documenting the discovery.
“That was completely unexpected. Y a little creepy for an astronomer, because there is nothing known in heaven that behave that way“.
Neutron star?
The objects that turn on and off in the Universe are not new to astronomers. They are known as “transitory”.
But an object that stays on for a full minute is “really weird,” explained Gemma Anderson, an astrophysicist at ICRAR-Curtin.
The organization added that after analyzing years of data, the team of researchers was able to establish that the object is located about 4,000 light years from Earth, is incredibly bright and has a extremely powerful magnetic field.
Theories about what the object could be include one that proposes it could be a neutron star or white dwarf, a term used to describe the remnants of a collapsed star.
However, much of the discovery remains a mystery.
“Further detections will tell astronomers whether this is a single, rare event or a large new population that we’ve never noticed before,” Hurley-Walker said.
“I hope to understand this object and then extend the search to find more.”
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eldiariony.com
Eddie is an Australian news reporter with over 9 years in the industry and has published on Forbes and tech crunch.