Astronomers have reported a strange object in space that emits radio signals every 22 minutes

Miscellaneous / by admin / July 21, 2023

This has been going on for 33 years, but only now they have been noticed.

A group of international scientists have recorded strange, repeating radio signals coming from a point 15,000 light-years away. They arrive every 22 minutes and last about 5 minutes. Study this was published in the journal Nature.

Moreover, a study of archival data showed that space telescopes recorded this slow “pulse” for 33 years. But so far it has managed to elude the attention of scientists.

The "signaling" object was named GPM J1839-10. Astronomers believe that this is a magnetar - a neutron star with an extremely powerful magnetic field. If so, the discovery goes beyond known physics.

This remarkable object challenges our understanding of neutron stars and magnetars, which are among the most exotic and extreme objects in the universe.

Natasha Harley-Walker

Astrophysicist at Curtin University International Center for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR) in Australia

There's a good reason why GPM J1839-10 went unnoticed for a long time - the object rotates too slowly to emit radio waves, so no one expected to find something like this.

instagram viewer

If we assume that this is a magnetar, then this object should not emit radio waves. But we see them. And we're not just talking about a small burst of radio emission. Every 22 minutes it emits a five-minute pulse of radio energy, and it has been doing so for at least 33 years. Whatever mechanism is behind it, it is extraordinary.

Natasha Harley-Walker

Interestingly, three years ago, astronomers discovered a similar object in the Milky Way, later named GLEAM-X J162759.5−523504.3. It emitted roughly one-minute radio waves every 18 minutes. True, in 2018 it calmed down and since then nothing has been heard about it.