A strange impulse from deep in the universe has forced astronomers to find a new type of neutron star (credit: PA).

Astronomers have been tracking mysterious radio signals from space to the discovery of neutron stars, more than previously discovered.

The story begins with Manishaker, a professor at the University of Sydney.

He and his colleagues looked at the Vela-X1 region of the deer leap, which is part of the universe 1,300 light-years from Earth.

They were using the MeerKAT radio telescope in South Africa and noticed a strange flicker or “pulse” that lasted about 300 milliseconds.

The light had some of the characteristics of a silent neutron star. “But it didn’t look like anything we’d seen before,” she said.

Neutron stars are the collapsed remains of giant supergiants. Apart from black holes, they are the smallest and densest stellar objects known to humans.

When they are particularly dense, they are sometimes called pulsars, and they often emit radio bursts that we can receive here on Earth.

Radio telescope observatory under the starry night

The team uses the MeerKAT radio telescope to detect an explosion in South Africa (credit: Getty Images)

“Our observations showed PSR J0941-4046 [which is what they named the star] It had some of the characteristics of a “pulsar” or “magnetar”. “Pulse is very dense debris from a collapsing giant, which typically emits radio waves from the poles,” Caleb said.

“Radio pulses can be measured from Earth, just as beacons can be seen flickering regularly in the distance as they rotate.

However, so far, the maximum duration of the pulsar’s rotation has been 23.5 seconds. This means that a whole new class of radio transmissions can be found. Our findings are published in Nature Astronomy.

in the graveyard of stars

In addition to discovering a pulsing neutron star, unlike anything we’ve seen so far, the team also discovered that it was in the neutron star “graveyard.”

This particular region of space, where PSR J0941-4046 resides, is thought to be filled with neutron stars at the end of their life cycles.

The embargo until 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday, January 26, did not change the artist's impression of what an object would be like if it were a magnet, issued by ICRAR.  Astronomers have discovered a mysterious object that they have never seen before.  Researchers believe that it is a neutron star or white dwarf (the core of a decaying star) and that it may have a super strong magnetic field.  Release date: Wednesday, January 26, 2022. PA photo.  See PAStorySCIENCE object.  Must Read Captions: ICRAR/PA Wire Editor's Note: This handout photo is an editorial report to provide a concise illustration of the events, objects, people, or facts mentioned in the image.  It can only be used for purposes.  Reuse of images may require additional permission from the copyright owner.

Artist’s impression of what a neutron star would look like if it were a magnet (credit: PA)

Some of them are less active, while others may be completely dead and dormant.

“PSRJ0941-4046 casts doubt on our understanding of how neutron stars are born and evolve,” said Caleb.

It’s also attractive because it appears to produce at least seven distinctly different pulse shapes, but most neutron stars don’t show such diversity. These various pulse shapes and pulse intensities are likely related to the object’s unknown physical emission mechanism.

I’m curious what you mean by “unknown physical release mechanism”.

Calve continued. “A certain type of pulse shows a strong ‘quasi-periodic’ structure, suggesting that some vibrations are caused by radioactivity. These pulses can provide valuable information about the inner workings of PSR J0941-4046.

“These quasi-periodic pulses are like mysterious fast radio bursts, short radio bursts of unknown origin.

“But it is not yet clear whether PSRJ0941-4046 emits the energy seen during a fast radio burst.

This animation shows a neutron star (RX J0806.4-4123) with a hot dusty disk that produces an infrared signature, discovered by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope.  The disk was not fired directly, but one way to explain the data is to assume the structure of the disk.  This could be 18 billion miles.  This disk consisted of matter that would fall back into a neutron star after the supernova explosion created the remnants of a star.  Credits: NASA, ESA, N.Tr ???  Ehnl (Pennsylvania State University)

This image shows a neutron star with a disk of warm dust forming an infrared signature around it (Credit: Space Telescope Science Institute).

Of course, like any other discovery in the deep universe, scientists simply turn the answer into more questions.

How active is this neutron star? Are there other similar stars in the galaxy? Is this neutron star in the classical sense if a new type of celestial body is invented for its classification?

“Such a source is hard to find, which means there may be more undiscovered clusters waiting to be found,” Caleb said.

He concluded that: “Our discovery also adds the possibility of a new class of radio transitions: ultra-long period neutron stars. Future exploration of such objects is essential to understanding neutron star populations.