Latest news with #ChandraXrayObservatory
BBC News
06-06-2025
- Science
- BBC News
ASKAP J1832: Scientists discovers mysterious pulsating star in space
Scientists say they've spotted a mysterious object in space behaving in a very strange star, which has been named ASKAP J1832, is acting unlike anything seen before, according to Nasa around 15,000 light years from Earth, it is pulsing every 44 even more strange is that it is doing it with both radio waves and X-rays. What did scientists find? A team of astronomers looked at data from Nasa's space-based Chandra X-ray Observatory and the Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) radio telescope in Australia to study the discovered object, which has been called ASKAP found that the star belongs to a class of objects called "long period radio transients" - that means it sends out radio waves of different levels over tens of minutes - in this case every 44 they also found that it is also sending X-rays every 44 minutes to Nasa, this combination of factors is "unlike anything astronomers have seen in the Milky Way galaxy."Experts are trying to work out what type of object ASKAP J1832, however they think it might be one of two could be a magnetar - which is a neutron star with an extremely strong magnetic field, with an age of more than half a million it could also be possibly an unusual white dwarf star which has a companion star.
Yahoo
01-06-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Scientists Spot Mysterious Object in Our Galaxy Pulsing Every 44 Minutes
Astronomers have spotted something strange and spectacular: a mysterious object that keeps emitting pulses every 44 minutes. In a press release from Australia's Curtin University, which was part of the international team that detected the object just 15,000 light-years away in our Milky Way galaxy, astronomers explained that the find was all the more stunning because the signal is coming in the form of both X-rays and radio waves. The object, which was named ASKAP J1832-0911 after Australia's ASKAP radio telescope that was used to detect it, was discovered emitting two-minute-long pulses that would pause and then repeat 44 minutes later. As the Curtin press release explains, the researchers lucked out when they realized that NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory was observing the same part of the sky and detected the same repeating signal in X-ray form. This dual-natured pulse belongs to a newly-discovered class of space phenomena known as "long-period radio transients," or LPTs for short. Discovered in 2022 by the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research — which also sponsored this latest study — these mystery pulses have unknown origins and occur in fixed intervals of minutes or hours. They're considered by astronomers to be remarkably slow as compared to the signals emitted by pulsars, those rapidly-rotating stars that send out similar bursts every few milliseconds when their poles point in Earth's direction. In the years since they were first discovered, astronomers around the world have only detected some 10 other LPTs — but before now, none have been run through X-ray telescopes as well. According to Ziteng "Andy" Wang, an ICRAR-affiliated Curtin astronomer and the lead author a paper about the finding that was just published in the journal Nature, discovering the dual nature of LPTs in such a coincidental manner "felt like finding a needle in a haystack." "The ASKAP radio telescope has a wide field view of the night sky, while Chandra observes only a fraction of it," Wang explained in the Curtin press release. "So, it was fortunate that Chandra observed the same area of the night sky at the same time." Because LPTs are such a new phenomenon to astronomers, they can't say for sure what causes them. When the first of them were discovered, astronomers posited that they could be coming from magnetars, a type of neutron star with extremely strong magnetic fields that also emit radio pulses at faster intervals, leading to the ICRAR team positing that they may have an "ultra-long-period magnetar" on their hands. While the magnetar theory appears to have been scrapped, the astronomers behind this update in LPT knowledge are hopeful that it will help them figure out what these strange, slow pulses are about. "This object is unlike anything we have seen before," said Wang. More on strange space: Scientists Startled by Discovery of Small Star Swimming Through Outer Layers of Another Larger Star
The Independent
30-05-2025
- Science
- The Independent
Scientists can't figure out mysterious signal from deep space
Scientists have detected a mysterious, regular signal, named ASKAP J1832-0911, flashing from 15,000 light years away in space, emitting radio waves and X-rays every 44 minutes. The object was discovered using an Australian telescope and NASA 's Chandra X-ray Observatory, marking the first time an LPT (long-period transient) has been observed emitting both X-rays and radio signals. Researchers note that the X-ray and radio wave emissions from ASKAP J1832-0911 have decreased over time, an unprecedented phenomenon in the Milky Way galaxy. The nature of the object remains unknown, with theories suggesting it could be a magnetar or a binary star system involving a highly magnetised white dwarf, but these theories do not fully explain the observed behaviour. Scientists aim to continue studying ASKAP J1832-0911 and search for similar objects, hoping the X-ray emissions will provide insights into the origin and mechanism of the signals, potentially indicating new physics or stellar evolution models.
CTV News
28-05-2025
- Science
- CTV News
Astronomers discover strange new celestial object in our Milky Way galaxy
This image shows X-rays from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory (represented in blue) that have been combined with infrared data from NASA's retired Spitzer Space Telescope (cyan, light blue, teal and orange), and radio from MeerKat (red). An inset shows a more detailed view of the immediate area around this unusual object in X-ray and radio light. (NASA/Chandra/Spitzer/MeerKat via AP)
Asharq Al-Awsat
28-05-2025
- General
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Astronomers Discover Strange New Celestial Object in Our Milky Way Galaxy
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. What's more, the cycle repeats every 44 minutes, at least during periods of extreme activity. Located 15,000 light-years away in a region of the Milky Way brimming with stars, gas and dust, this object could be a highly magnetized dead star like a neutron or white dwarf, Curtin University's Ziteng Andy Wang said in an email from Australia. Or it could be 'something exotic' and unknown, said Wang, lead author of the study published in the journal Nature. NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory spotted the X-ray emissions by chance last year while focusing on a supernova remnant, or the remains of an exploded star. Wang said it was the first time X-rays had been seen coming from a so-called long-period radio transient, a rare object that cycles through radio signals over tens of minutes. Given the uncertain distance, astronomers can't tell if the weird object is associated with the supernova remnant or not. A single light-year is 5.8 trillion miles. The hyperactive phase of this object, designated ASKAP J1832−091, appeared to last about a month. Outside of that period, the star did not emit any noticeable X-rays. That could mean more of these objects may be out there, scientists said. 'While our discovery doesn't yet solve the mystery of what these objects are and may even deepen it, studying them brings us closer to two possibilities,' Wang said. 'Either we are uncovering something entirely new, or we're seeing a known type of object emitting radio and X-ray waves in a way we've never observed before.' Launched in 1999, Chandra orbits tens of thousands of miles (kilometers) above Earth, observing some of the hottest, high-energy objects in the universe.
