Mysterious space object beams out radio waves every 18 minutes
Technology
The space structure was said to be an astronomical lighthouse.
(Web Desk) – The astronauts had made a startling discover as they detected the presence of a mysterious astronomical object that had been beaming out radio waves every 18 minutes.
The rotating space structure releasing bursts of energy had been spotted in March 2018. It beamed out radiation three times per hour and was the brightest source of radia waves visible from planet earth. The space structure was said to be an astronomical lighthouse.
The scientist were not so sure about what the space structure exactly was as they had a number of hypothetical theories about it. According to scientists it could be a remnant of a collapsed star, either a dense neutron star or a dead white dwarf star with a strong magnetic field adding that the heavenly body could be something entirely different.
A study about the astronomical structure has been recently published in the journal Nature. It was revealed that the visibility of the object was not consistent as it kept appearing and disappearing.
The lead study author Natasha Hurley-Walker, an astrophysicist at the Curtin University node of the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research has stated that, “This object was appearing and disappearing over a few hours during our observations.”
"That was completely unexpected. It was kind of spooky for an astronomer because there’s nothing known in the sky that does that. And it’s really quite close to us -- about 4,000 light-years away. It’s in our galactic backyard,” added Natasha Hurley-Walker.
The amazing celestial discovery was made by Curtin University doctoral student Tyrone O Doherty while he was using the Murchison Widefield Array telescope in the outback of Western Australia.
Tyrone O Doherty has expressed that, "It’s exciting that the source I identified last year has turned out to be such a peculiar object," he went on saying that, "The MWA’s wide field of view and extreme sensitivity are perfect for surveying the entire sky and detecting the unexpected."
