{"id":3739,"date":"2022-02-17T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-02-17T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/?p=3739"},"modified":"2022-02-03T06:45:50","modified_gmt":"2022-02-03T06:45:50","slug":"theres-a-radio-signal-coming-from-within-the-milky-way-and-it-repeats-every-18-minutes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/theres-a-radio-signal-coming-from-within-the-milky-way-and-it-repeats-every-18-minutes\/","title":{"rendered":"There\u2019s a Radio Signal Coming From Within the Milky Way\u2014And It Repeats Every 18 Minutes"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>It\u2019s no surprise to us that the universe is quite literally full of surprises. After all, the wider we cast our net as we find out more about the cosmos, the more we realize that there\u2019s so much more out there that we have yet to see or figure out. From <a href=\"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/a-distant-star-unleashed-the-most-massive-solar-storm-weve-ever-seen\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">stars that release absurd amounts of energy<\/a> to <a href=\"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/a-red-giant-exploded-into-a-supernova-in-front-of-scientists-eyes\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">awe-inspiring cosmic explosions<\/a>, one need only look up with the right set of eyes to see what the universe has to offer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That\u2019s precisely what <a href=\"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Curtin University<\/a> (CU) Honors student Tyrone O\u2019Doherty was doing over a series of days, gathering information from radio waves that emanate from the deepest recesses of the visible universe using the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mwatelescope.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Murchison Widefield Array<\/a> (MWA) telescope located in Western Australia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed aligncenter is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"The guided fly-through tour of the Murchison Widefield Array\" width=\"1200\" height=\"900\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/5NvufSIFRpM?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><figcaption>Above is a guided video tour of the Murchison Widefield Array telescope. (Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for All-sky Astrophysics, 2013)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>In the series of scans they collected, O\u2019Doherty noticed a spike of radio waves that stood out. Together with a team of researchers, they went back through older scans of that same region of the sky and found the exact same spike, which it turns out was repeating quite often at about 18 minutes between each 30-60-second radio burst.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What\u2019s even odder is the fact that it wasn\u2019t releasing those bursts all the time; the radio source went through a so-called \u201cactive phase\u201d back in January and most of March of 2018, yet appeared to lie low for the month of February in between. A closer look into previous and future data from that short three-month window revealed that it didn\u2019t really show up prior to those three months\u2014and it hasn\u2019t appeared since.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img  decoding=\"async\"  src=\"data:image\/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABAQMAAAAl21bKAAAAA1BMVEUAAP+KeNJXAAAAAXRSTlMAQObYZgAAAAlwSFlzAAAOxAAADsQBlSsOGwAAAApJREFUCNdjYAAAAAIAAeIhvDMAAAAASUVORK5CYII=\"  alt=\"\"  class=\" pk-lazyload\"  data-pk-sizes=\"auto\"  data-pk-src=\"https:\/\/lh3.googleusercontent.com\/tQK7lHG8EEWDLqCS1E22oxWoH9CuxWJdRGXttYgfIjSvT_tn6uZbvPEhkVdtsavgw7KdB4wXrjAMqxWJc6x9-PdggRhfJQ07avA-1uFwrFAC-QOuA0a-0-pXDQZcYJdu9HsRddrc\" ><figcaption>The colored scan of the sky above was taken by the Murchison Widefield Array telescope during the timeframe where the mysterious radio source was active; its spot in the sky is highlighted above. It appears to be colored as such because the scan was done in the frequencies of radio waves; color was added in afterwards to give the scans a visual aspect. (Hurley-Walker et al\/ICRAR\/Curtin University\/GLEAM, 2022)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Dr. Natasha Hurley-Walker, lead researcher for the paper published in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/s41586-021-04272-x\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>Nature<\/em><\/a> and from the CU node of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.icrar.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research<\/a> (ICRAR), commented on their find through <a href=\"https:\/\/www.icrar.org\/repeating-transient\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">the ICRAR press release<\/a>: \u201cThis 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\u2019s nothing known in the sky that does that. And it\u2019s really quite close to us \u2013 about 4,000 light-years away. It\u2019s in our galactic backyard.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The question that immediately followed, of course, was what the identity of the radio source was. One thing that the researchers were apparently sure of is the fact that the signal covers a pretty broad range of frequencies, meaning it is highly likely to be natural in origin. Its true identity, however, is a much harder question to answer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As the light coming from the mysterious radio source appear to be highly <em>polarized<\/em>, it appeared to have \u201chighly ordered magnetic fields,\u201d according to <a href=\"https:\/\/newatlas.com\/space\/radio-signal-repeat-18-minutes-magnetar\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">New Atlas<\/a>. The constant repetitions of the signal also meant that the source was likely rotating; this meant that the source is likely either a <em>pulsar<\/em> or a <em>magnetar<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed aligncenter is-type-video is-provider-vimeo wp-block-embed-vimeo wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Repeating Transient Animation\" src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/657248792?h=f6925790fb&amp;dnt=1&amp;app_id=122963\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><figcaption>The video above, released by the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research, gives a well-animated summary of the mysterious radio source find\u2014including its likely identity. (ICRAR, 2022)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Both are variants of entities known as <a href=\"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/an-oddball-neutron-star-just-spit-out-a-huge-amount-of-energy-even-by-sun-standards\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>neutron stars<\/em><\/a>, with pulsars emitting beams of energy while it spins akin to lighthouses and magnetars possessing strong magnetic fields. Given that the source appears to have both, it may well be a combination of the two.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The problem, however, is that it appears to spin far too slowly for it to be either type of star. You see, pulsars spin (and consequently repeat their signals) in the range of milliseconds to seconds, while the slowest magnetars known to astronomy rotate every ten (10) seconds or so. This makes this mysterious star two orders of magnitude slower than even the slowest magnetar, and even more so for a pulsar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Dr. Hurley-Walker and team believe that what they\u2019re seeing is probably a type of magnetar called an <em>ultra-long-period magnetar<\/em>\u2014called as such because of their slow spin compared to their peers. This would make their find the first-ever definitive ultra-long-period magnetar known to science if proven true.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img  decoding=\"async\"  src=\"data:image\/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABAQMAAAAl21bKAAAAA1BMVEUAAP+KeNJXAAAAAXRSTlMAQObYZgAAAAlwSFlzAAAOxAAADsQBlSsOGwAAAApJREFUCNdjYAAAAAIAAeIhvDMAAAAASUVORK5CYII=\"  alt=\"\"  class=\" pk-lazyload\"  data-pk-sizes=\"auto\"  data-pk-src=\"https:\/\/lh3.googleusercontent.com\/Wgssw95d78ZyP-Cks64Yhgrjfa5033harKpGgrEkDAdrXoCUminmLIzxta5FOVBwM6jUXS51AWOjzC3UGuYcZj_z3nCXHxGwfn-wP-Cq8-kkHGq_KJxUFvthL6iz5INK-4OaJsIB\" ><figcaption>Magnetars are among the most unique forms of stars out there, considering their immense densities and truly bizarre circumstances. These special stars are only some 20 km (12 mi) across, yet contain about 1.4 times the mass of the Sun; a tablespoon of material from its core would weigh roughly 100 million metric tons. (ESO\/Cal\u00e7ada, 2008)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Dr. Hurley-Walker continued: \u201c[If] you do all of the mathematics you find that they shouldn\u2019t have enough power to produce [these kinds] of radio waves every 20 minutes. [&#8230;] [They] should be quiet. So what we think is that the magnetic field lines are somehow twisted. The neutron star has undergone some kind of outburst or activity that is causing a temporary production of radio waves, that makes it strong enough to produce something every 20 minutes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>O\u2019Doherty, now studying for a Ph.D at CU, commented about his one-of-a-kind experience: \u201cIt\u2019s exciting that the source I identified [&#8230;] has turned out to be such a peculiar object. The MWA\u2019s wide field of view and extreme sensitivity are perfect for surveying the entire sky and detecting the unexpected.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As with all astronomical findings, more research is needed to fully ascertain the identity of their mysterious radio source. The MWA telescope will continue to train its eyes onto the mysterious entity for further studies, with <a href=\"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/james-webb-telescope-now-fully-deployed-sets-its-sights-to-the-stars\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">recent developments in space telescopes<\/a> only improving our chances of finding out what it is for good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed aligncenter is-type-video is-provider-vimeo wp-block-embed-vimeo wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Q&amp;amp;A with Dr Hurley-Walker\" src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/649767228?h=9854834bc3&amp;dnt=1&amp;app_id=122963\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><figcaption>Dr. Natasha Hurley-Walker recorded a Q&amp;A video addressing some of the most pressing questions about their unique find. (ICRAR, 2022)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"references\">References<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Hurley-Walker, N., Zhang, X., Bahramian, A., McSweeney, S. J., O\u2019Doherty, T. N., Hancock, P. J., Morgan, J. S., Anderson, G. E., Heald, G. H., &amp; Galvin, T. J. (2022). A radio transient with unusually slow periodic emission. <em>Nature<\/em>, <em>601<\/em>(7894), 526\u2013530. <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1038\/s41586-021-04272-x\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1038\/s41586-021-04272-x<\/a><\/li><li>Irving, M. (2022, January 26). <em>Bizarre radio signal repeating every 18 minutes discovered in Milky Way<\/em>. New Atlas. <a href=\"https:\/\/newatlas.com\/space\/radio-signal-repeat-18-minutes-magnetar\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/newatlas.com\/space\/radio-signal-repeat-18-minutes-magnetar\/<\/a><\/li><li>Mysterious object unlike anything astronomers have seen before. (2022, January 26). <em>ICRAR<\/em>. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.icrar.org\/repeating-transient\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/www.icrar.org\/repeating-transient\/<\/a><\/li><\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It\u2019s no surprise to us that the universe is quite literally full of surprises. After all, the wider&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3740,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[73,433,224,164,452],"class_list":{"0":"post-3739","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-space","8":"tag-astronomy","9":"tag-magnetar","10":"tag-milky-way-galaxy","11":"tag-neutron-star","12":"tag-pulsar","13":"cs-entry","14":"cs-video-wrap"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3739","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3739"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3739\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3741,"href":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3739\/revisions\/3741"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3740"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3739"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3739"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3739"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}