In an article published by Nature magazine, scientists seek to understand this phenomenon
A mysterious source was emitting radio pulses of varying levels of brightness, according to an article published in the journal Nature. According to the researchers, the signal could be coming from a neutron star, although they do not rule out other possibilities.
“We believe that most of the fleeting radio signals come from rotating neutron stars known as pulsars, which emit regular flashes of radio waves, like cosmic lighthouses. Normally, these neutron stars rotate at incredible speeds, lasting only a few seconds or even a fraction of a fraction.” From the second.” “One second to complete each cycle,” says researcher Emil Link.
The researcher explains that in addition to having a cycle lasting about an hour (the longest ever), the signal also emitted long, bright flashes, fast, weak pulses, and sometimes nothing over several observations.
He adds: “We cannot explain what is happening here. The most likely thing is that it is a very unusual neutron star, but we cannot rule out other possibilities.”
The astronomer says the signal caught attention because the radio waves are “circularly polarized,” meaning the direction of the waves turns like a switch as the signal travels through space — something considered unusual in the field of astronomy.
“The origin of the signal with such a long period remains a profound mystery, with the main suspect being a slowly rotating neutron star. However, we cannot rule out the possibility that the object is a white dwarf – ‘ash’ of this size.” “The Earth is made of a star, like the sun that has exhausted its nuclear fuel.”