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Credit: Getty Images
Tag: Science
Tag: News


WHAT IS SPEWING WEIRD RADIO SIGNALS FROM THE MIDDLE OF THE GALAXY?

Contributed by
Elizabeth Rayne
@quothravenrayne
Sep 10, 2021, 4:12 PM EDT
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Tag: Science
Tag: News
Tag: Astronomy
Tag: Pulsars
Tag: Supernova
Tag: Science

You think you know the galaxy you live in until something bizarre appears almost
out of nowhere (and no, it isn’t aliens).

When the Australian Square Kilometer Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) picked up on
something unusual, it wasn’t just a known object acting strange, but something
that could be a completely new type of object never observed before. What is now
known as ASKAP J173608.2-321625 erratically emits radio signals from near the
center of the galaxy. The problem is that no one really knows what that
means—and there is nothing else like it.

MORE ASTRONOMY

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these cravings?
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it’s screaming a mystery

Researchers led by Ph. D. student Ziteng Wang of the University of Australia are
determined to find out how this object can be identified. Their study was
recently accepted by The Astrophysical Journal. What they do know is that it can
only be seen in radio waves, and ASKAP is one of the most sensitive radio
telescopes that exists. The only issue is that, despite its wide field of view,
it only covers about 0.07 percent of the sky, which makes mysterious objects
like this difficult to find.

“We discovered this source in one of the ASKAP surveys called VAST, which is
designed to discover radio sources which turn on and off,” Wang told SYFY WIRE.
“Since the source turns on and off irregularly (at least it has in the
observations we have made up until now), it is also impossible to design an
observation to catch it when it is on.”

If Wang and his team are not yet able to definitively say what this thing is, at
least they know what it isn’t. Flaring stars were one possibility, but to
qualify as one, the object would have to give off light in the visible part of
the spectrum, which was nonexistent. Its radio signals also hugely surpass the
brightness of stars. It couldn’t be an X-ray binary system because it was
emitting radio waves instead of X-rays. Taking a closer look at where it was the
spectrum cleared up any uncertainties about that and the possibility of it being
a gamma-ray burst.

What strange objects could be hiding in the center of our galaxy? Credit: NASA

ASKAP J173608.2-321625 doesn't behave like anything else when it comes to its
uneven pattern of flickering on and off. That is another reason it can’t
possibly be a gamma-ray burst—those are usually one-offs. Supernovas are even
less likely. Though the change in radio waves emitted by a supernova can be
measured, it is usually measured in years, while with this object, variations
show up in days or weeks. Never mind that supernova bursts are also one-offs.

The only known type of object ASKAP J173608.2-321625 might be is a pulsar
somewhere in the interstellar medium, but only if the all that star gas is
warping how ASKAP interprets the pulsar signal. This is still highly unlikely.
So is there anything it is even close to? Try galactic center radio transients
(GCRTs), which are just as mysterious. Wang is considering them as a possible
explanation or at least a similar type of object this one can be compared to.

“They are both highly polarized and have a steep radio spectrum, and the flux
density for both of them varies,” he said. “They are both also located near the
galactic center. Neither of them have counterparts in X-ray or near infrared
wavelengths. we don’t even know if all GCRTs share a common origin; it is hard
to say.”

At least 80 GCRTs and similar objects that variably emit radio waves have been
identified near the galactic center in the past few years. Radio variables are
thought to emerge from instabilities in binary systems that involve neutron
stars and black holes. If GCRTs don’t even originate the same way, it could be
possible that Wang has hit on something. If ASKAP J173608.2-321625 is not a GCRT
but another type of known object, it could really push the limits of that
object’s definition. There just needs to be more research done on them.

“We would like to observe the object for a longer time when it is radio bright,”
Wang said. 
“As it has not been seen in any other wavelengths, more detailed
radio observation will be help us locate the object in the visual spectrum.
Unfortunately, since we don’t know when the source turns bright again, that can
be troublesome.”


Tag: Science
Tag: News
Tag: Astronomy
Tag: Pulsars
Tag: Supernova
Tag: Science



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