Friday, October 18, 2024

A mysterious intermittent signal from space baffles scientists » Science News

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An unidentified signal challenges current knowledge about neutron stars and pulsars.

When astronomers point radio telescopes into space, they often detect radio waves coming from various sources in the universe. Some of these signals They occur repeatedly, as they do with a rotating neutron star, but the latest discovery represents a challenge to current scientific knowledge. The signal appears to come from a neutron star, but it is unlike anything observed so far. These stars, also known as Pulsar, they spin at very high speeds, sometimes hundreds of revolutions per second; However, the new signal cycle repeats every hour, which is much longer than usual. The selected object is named ASKAP J1935+2148, named after the ASKAP radio telescope that captured the signal from deep space. Astronomers are trying to solve the mystery: Is it possible for a neutron star to rotate so slowly?

It’s really strange to find a potential neutron star emitting pulses like this. The fact that the signal is repeated so slowly is extraordinary“He claims Manisha KalebAstronomer and author of the study. It is also important to remember that we currently do not understand exactly how pulsars generate radio emissions; Therefore, this discovery makes the mystery even greater it’s interesting. Some speculate that it may not be a neutron star, but rather a single star White Nana. A white dwarf with a strong magnetic field to produce such a signal has never been found, but it is theoretically possible. Another theory suggests that it may be a binary star system. The fact remains that we do not have a definitive answer, but whatever it is, it will certainly enrich our understanding of astronomy.

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source:

https://www.iflscience.com/weird-signal-from-space-in-a-completely-new-stellar-behavior-74521









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