2023-07-22 18:05:06
Scientists say an unknown source has been sending radio bursts toward Earth since at least 1988. Astronomers don’t know what object is sending radio waves toward Earth because the nature of the waves doesn’t fit any models trying to explain them. Over the course of 35 years, scientists say, the source has been sending out regular 20-minute bursts of energy that vary widely in brightness. The emissions look like bursts from pulsars or fast radio bursts (FRB), lasting from milliseconds to several seconds. But the newly discovered source sends out radio signals that pulsate over a period of 21 minutes, something that was previously thought impossible by predictable explanations. Pulsars are neutron stars that spin at high speed, firing radio bursts. And when one of them crosses the Earth, the emissions can be captured very briefly and subtly. Scientists believe that the process can only work if the pulsar’s magnetic field is strong, and when it rotates fast enough. If not, there wouldn’t be enough power to see the pulsar from Earth. This led to the development of the “pulsar line of death”, indicating that the sources must be spinning fast and strong enough to be detected. Scientists believe the process can only work if the pulsar’s magnetic field is strong, and when it spins fast enough. If not, there wouldn’t be enough power to see the pulsar from Earth. This led to the development of the “pulsating line of death,” indicating that the sources must be spinning fast and powerful enough to detect them. However, the newly discovered object named GPMJ1839-10 is very far from this death line. And if it is a pulsar, it appears to be working in ways scientists thought impossible. It might also be a highly magnetized white dwarf or magnetar, which is an additional type of neutron star with incredibly strong magnetic fields, but the team believes they tend not to emit emissions of this type. The signals have been detected on Earth since at least 1988, as scientists have found them by looking at ancient records, but they are not noticed by those who collect that data. After discovering the source, the team examined the radio archives and found that the source had been repeated for at least 35 years. Victoria M. Caspi, a professor of physics at McGill University who was not involved in the study, said more discoveries may be made in this way in the future. “Only time will tell what lies in this data, and what observations across many astronomical time scales will reveal,” she wrote in an accompanying article. That might include some explanations for how strange the newly discovered source is. And by examining whether there is a similar group of other organisms in the data, researchers may be able to understand the mechanisms behind the newly detected emissions.
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