<
https://theconversation.com/a-mysterious-interstellar-radio-signal-has-been-blinking-on-and-off-every-22-minutes-for-over-30-years-205237>
"Last year, we made an intriguing discovery – a radio signal in space that
switched on and off every 18 minutes.
Astronomers expect to see some repeating radio signals in space, but they
usually blink on and off much more quickly. The most common repeating signals
come from pulsars, rotating neutron stars that emit energetic beams like
lighthouses, causing them to blink on and off as they rotate towards and away
from the Earth.
Pulsars slow down as they get older, and their pulses become fainter, until
eventually they stop producing radio waves altogether. Our unusually slow
pulsar could best be explained as a magnetar – a pulsar with exceedingly
complex and powerful magnetic fields that could generate radio waves for
several months before stopping.
Unfortunately, we detected the source using data gathered in 2018. By the time
we analysed the data and discovered what we thought might be a magnetar it was
2020, and it was no longer producing radio waves. Without additional data, we
were unable to test our magnetar theory."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
