The peculiar radio signal resembling a flash of light from Earth would need to be an intense cosmic explosion in a distant realm of the universe. The location of its appearance is the Vela-X-1 region within the Milky Way galaxy, which is situated approximately 1,300 light-years away from us.
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Mysterious Gleaming Spot Emerges Within Telescope’s View – Photo: MEERKAT
The luminous object has been designated as PSR J0941-4046, as indicated by a research team from the University of Sydney, Australia. It exhibits characteristics of either a pulsar or a magnetar—two immensely powerful forms of neutron stars.
A neutron star is an extreme “cosmic monster,” formed from the death of a massive star. It possesses an abundance of energy and functions akin to an “undead” entity or “zombie.”
In an article published on The Conversation, Dr. Manisha Caleb, spokesperson for the University of Sydney research group, highlighted that their attention was drawn to subtle anomalies that blurred the classification of the newly identified object as either a pulsar or a magnetar.
It spins similarly to a pulsar, but at an extraordinarily slower rate. It also resides within the “neutron star graveyard,” where these cosmic monsters reach the end of their lifecycles and cannot emit the radio emissions of a “burst” in the same manner.
The research team still believes that PSR J0941-4046 is a neutron star, yet it may well belong to an entirely new category of neutron stars never before observed in the universe, exhibiting an unusually long cycle.
“PSR J0941-4046 challenges our understanding of how neutron stars are born and evolve. It’s also intriguing because it seems to exhibit at least 7 distinct pulse profiles,” wrote Dr. Caleb.
The discovery of PSR J0941-4046 occurred serendipitously as Dr. Caleb’s team, operating the MeerTRAP project utilizing South Africa’s MeerKAT radio telescope, observed the Vela-X-1 region. The enigmatic object manifested itself as a pulsar or an elongated flash of light lasting around 300 milliseconds.
The findings of this study have been published in the scientific journal Nature Communications.