A powerful flash-like phenomenon from the universe has appeared in the view of the MeerKAT radio telescope, located in South Africa. This could be a completely new type of cosmic monster.
The strange radio signal resembles a flash from Earth and is likely a fierce explosion occurring in a distant region of space, specifically in the Vela-X 1 area of the Milky Way galaxy, which is about 1,300 light-years away from us.
The strange bright spot appearing in the view of the telescope – (Photo: MEERKAT)
The object, named PSR J0941-4046, has been described by a research team from the University of Sydney (Australia) as having characteristics of a pulsar or magnetar—two types of extremely powerful neutron stars.
Neutron stars are a form of “cosmic monster” that forms from the death of a massive star, exhibiting extreme energy and functioning like a “zombie.”
In an article on The Conversation, Dr. Manisha Caleb, representing the research team from the University of Sydney, noted that what grabbed their attention were the peculiarities that made classifying the new object as either a pulsar or magnetar uncertain.
It spins like a pulsar but is extremely slow compared to typical pulsars. It is situated in the “neutron star graveyard”, where these cosmic monsters have reached the end of their life cycles and cannot produce such a significant “flare” of radio emissions.
The research team still believes that PSR J0941-4046 is a neutron star, but it is likely a completely new type of neutron star, never before documented in the universe, with an exceptionally long rotation period.
“PSR J0941-4046 challenges our understanding of how neutron stars are born and evolve. It is also intriguing because it appears to produce at least 7 clearly distinct pulse shapes,” Dr. Caleb wrote.
PSR J0941-4046 was discovered accidentally when Dr. Caleb’s team, who were conducting the MeerTRAP project using the MeerKAT radio telescope in South Africa, observed the Vela-X 1 region. The strange object manifested as a pulse or flash lasting about 300 milliseconds.
This research was recently published in the scientific journal Nature Communications.
