CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Astronomers have discovered a strange new object in our Milky Way galaxy.
An international team reported Wednesday that this celestial object — perhaps a star, pair of stars or something else entirely — is emitting X-rays around the same time it’s shooting out radio waves.
Or it could be “something exotic” and unknown, said Wang, lead author of the study published in the journal Nature.
Given the uncertain distance, astronomers can’t tell if the weird object is associated with the supernova remnant or not.
The hyperactive phase of this object — designated ASKAP J1832−091 — appeared to last about a month.
Cape Canaveral, Florida. — In our Milky Way galaxy, astronomers have found a strange new object.
This celestial object, which could be a star, a pair of stars, or something else entirely, is releasing radio waves and X-rays at roughly the same time, according to a report released Wednesday by an international team. Additionally, the cycle repeats every 44 minutes, at least when there is a lot of activity.
According to Ziteng Andy Wang of Curtin University in an email from Australia, this object, which is 15,000 light-years away in an area of the Milky Way that is teeming with stars, gas, and dust, may be a highly magnetized dead star such as a neutron or white dwarf.
The study’s lead author, Wang, suggested that it might be “something exotic” and unidentified. The study was published in the journal Nature.
Last year, while concentrating on a supernova remnant—the remnants of an exploded star—NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory accidentally detected the X-ray emissions. According to Wang, this was the first time X-rays were observed emanating from a rare object known as a long-period radio transient, which cycles through radio signals over tens of minutes.
Because of the unknown distance, astronomers are unable to determine whether the strange object is related to the supernova remnant. Five point eight trillion miles make up one light-year.
This object, known as ASKAP J1832−091, seemed to be in a hyperactive phase for approximately one month. There were no discernible X-rays emitted by the star outside of that time. According to scientists, this could indicate that there are more of these objects out there.
“Studying these objects brings us closer to two possibilities, even though our discovery doesn’t yet solve the mystery of what they are and may even deepen it,” Wang stated. We are either discovering something completely new or witnessing a known object emitting X-ray and radio waves in a manner that has never been seen before. “”.
Since its launch in 1999, Chandra has been observing some of the universe’s hottest and most energetic objects from its orbit tens of thousands of miles (kilometers) above Earth.
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