Astronomers have discovered a mysterious shimmering object in the Milky Way, spewing a huge amount of energy towards the Earth three times an hour
Mysterious object is unlike anything seen before
This extraordinarily powerful object, located about 4 thousand light years from the Sun, is unlike any of the cosmic structures ever observed.
: It’s hard to believe: an incredible video from space turned out to be real
The object appeared out of nowhere during a recent radio wave survey of the Milky Way, writes Live Science.
The GLEAM object rapidly became brighter over the course of about 60 seconds, briefly becoming one of the brightest objects in the entire sky, and then suddenly disappeared into the darkness again.
After about 20 minutes, the object reappeared – it flashed to maximum brightness, and after a minute it dimmed again.
Such objects that appear and disappear before the lenses of our telescopesare called transients.
Typically, transients represent either a dying star (supernova) or a bizarre, the rapidly spinning corpse of an already dead star, also known as a neutron star.
However, none of these explanations fully corresponds to the behavior of the newly discovered object, the researchers write.
It is possible that the mysterious GLEAM is evidence new type of stellar object – or even one that astronomers have not even dreamed of.
“It was a bit creepy for an astronomer because there was nothing like it in the sky,” said study lead author Natasha Hurley-Walker from Australia.
The on-off flashes too fast to be a supernova and too slow to be a pulsar.
: Harp strings in space: a thousand mysterious threads were found in the center of the Milky Way
Theoretically, this could be an “extra-long period magnetar”, which in essence is highly magnetized neutron star spinning incredibly slowly.
It could also be rare type of white dwarf, which can pulsate like GLEAM if rotated at the right speed. Astronomers will continue to study the object.
We previously wrote:
Source: Segodnya
As an entertainment author with over 7 years of experience, I bring a diverse background to my writing. I have a proven track record in the journalism industry. My expertise extends beyond writing, as I have experience producing video content for websites and social media platforms, offering a well-rounded perspective on the entertainment world
