Astronomers have recorded a mysterious signal from space that repeats every 44 minutes

Astronomers have discovered an unusual object emitting signals from the depths of space with amazing regularity - every 44 minutes.

It has been named ASKAP J1832−0911 and stands out by sending pulses of radio waves and X-ray radiation that continue for two minutes. The signal source was first detected using the Australian radio telescope ASKAP (Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder), and then its observation was confirmed by NASA specialists using the Chandra X-ray Observatory.

As reported by BAKU.WS with reference to Lifehacker, according to the lead author of the work, Andy Wang from Curtin University in Australia, the object is unlike any known to science. Scientists suggest that it could be a magnetar - a super-dense core of a dead star with a powerful magnetic field - or a system of two stars, in which one is a strongly magnetized white dwarf. However, even these hypotheses do not explain all the observed features.

ASKAP J1832−0911 belongs to a class of rare cosmic phenomena - long-period transients (LPT), which emit signals at intervals of minutes or even hours. So far, astronomers have managed to detect only ten such objects. Unlike familiar pulsars, whose signals repeat with a frequency of seconds or milliseconds, LPTs challenge established ideas about the nature of such radiation sources.

Special significance is given to the discovery by the fact that ASKAP J1832−0911 was the first of all known LPTs to be detected not only in the radio range but also in X-rays. This could be the key to understanding the nature of such objects. Scientists emphasize that simultaneous observation in two ranges is an extremely rare stroke of luck: ASKAP's field of view covers most of the sky, while Chandra captures only a narrow sector. The coincidence of observations became a real find.

Now researchers intend to look for similar objects using two types of telescopes at once. According to astrophysicist Nanda Rea from the Catalan Institute for Space Research, this discovery may mean that such sources are much more common than previously thought. Uncovering the nature of ASKAP J1832−0911 will help better understand the behavior of matter in extreme conditions and, possibly, even open the way to new physics.