Scientists have announced the discovery of a mysterious celestial object that has been emitting radio signals to Earth for over three decades.
The enigmatic source, named GPM J1839-10, has left scientists baffled due to its unprecedented behavior. The object emits powerful radio waves at regular intervals of 22 minutes, a timeframe much slower than typical space objects that emit such signals.
The groundbreaking discovery began in March 2018 when sharp-eyed Curtin University doctoral student Tyrone O’Doherty spotted a mysterious spinning celestial body. The bizarre object quickly became the brightest source of radio waves observable from Earth, resembling a celestial lighthouse that captured the attention of scientists worldwide.
Initial theories suggested that this enigmatic entity might be a remnant of a collapsed star, either a dense neutron star or a lifeless white dwarf star with an exceptionally strong magnetic field. However, as speculation mounted, other potential explanations remained on the table, leaving astronomers scratching their heads in awe.
After months of diligent research, O’Doherty and a team of brilliant astronomers at the Curtin University node of the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR) in Australia made a groundbreaking breakthrough. In January 2022, they released a study detailing their observations and embarked on a daring mission to find more examples of this peculiar phenomenon.
“We were stumped,” admitted Dr. Natasha Hurley-Walker, the senior lecturer at the Curtin University node of ICRAR. “So we started searching for similar objects to find out if it was an isolated event or just the tip of the iceberg.”
Their relentless pursuit of answers led them to deploy the powerful Murchison Widefield Array, a state-of-the-art radio telescope located on the Wajarri Yamaji Country in outback Western Australia. Between July and September 2022, the astronomers meticulously scanned the heavens, hoping for a stroke of luck.
Further observations of GPM J1839−10 were conducted using advanced ground and space-based telescopes, including the MeerKAT radio telescope in South Africa and the XMM-Newton space telescope.
Remarkably, the research team uncovered archival data suggesting that signals from GPM J1839-10 had been detected as far back as 1988, hiding in plain sight all along. This longevity suggests that whatever is producing these radio signals is not a transient event, making it a true cosmic enigma.
Believed to be a magnetar—a neutron star with extremely strong magnetic fields—GPM J1839-10 challenges conventional understanding. Magnetars are known to release energy within seconds or minutes, but this mysterious object has been sending out radio signals consistently since 1988, spanning over several decades.
Possible explanations such as pulsars or magnetars were ruled out due to the object’s slow periodicity and lack of corresponding X-ray emissions. Even considering other unknown objects, no satisfactory explanation has been found for this long-lasting, regular radio signal.
Moving forward, astronomers face challenges in studying such elusive objects. Their infrequent and lengthy bursts make them difficult to observe with standard methods. Future efforts may require dedicated hardware focused on a specific area of space for extended periods, a significant undertaking.
In the meantime, scientists aim to narrow down the location of GPM J1839-10 to explore other wavelengths for potential clues.
