Astronomers have stumbled upon a perplexing celestial enigma within our very own Milky Way galaxy. An international team of researchers has reported the discovery of a peculiar object exhibiting a unique behaviour: emitting X-rays in sync with bursts of radio waves, all in a repeating cycle of approximately 44 minutes.
According to the study published in the journal Nature, this unprecedented observation has led scientists to classify the object as unlike any known entity within our galaxy. Located 15,000 light-years away in a star-rich region of the Milky Way, this enigmatic object, dubbed ASKAP J1832-0911, could potentially be a highly magnetised remnant of a dead star, such as a neutron star or white dwarf. However, the possibility of it being an entirely new and exotic phenomenon remains on the table.
"This object is unlike anything we have seen before," team leader and Curtin University researcher Zieng (Andy) Wang said in a statement.
The serendipitous discovery occurred during a routine observation of a supernova remnant by NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory. Researchers were taken aback when they detected X-ray emissions emanating from the same source as previously observed long-period radio transients, which are rare objects that cycle through radio signals over extended periods.
The correlation between the X-ray and radio wave emissions, coupled with other unusual characteristics, has deepened the mystery surrounding ASKAP J1832-0911. The object's hyperactive phase, during which it emits noticeable X-rays, appears to last for about a month, followed by a period of quiescence. This intermittent behavior suggests that similar objects might be lurking undetected in other parts of the galaxy, waiting to be discovered.
While astronomers have pinpointed the object's location, its association with the nearby supernova remnant remains uncertain due to the vast distances involved. Further investigations are underway to unravel the true nature of ASKAP J1832-0911 and to explore the possibility of uncovering more of these enigmatic objects scattered across the cosmos.
