From the heart of the galaxy: Researchers discover an unusual radio signal

From the heart of the galaxy: Researchers discover an unusual radio signal

From the heart of the galaxy: Researchers discover an unusual radio signal

Student Ziteng Wang picked up “unusual signals” from the center of our galaxy. Radio wave pattern does not want to become known … 10/22/2021, SNA

2021-10-22 T11: 01 + 0200

2021-10-22 T11: 01 + 0200

2021-10-22 T11: 01 + 0200

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Astronomers have detected strange signals coming from the direction of the center of the Milky Way. The signals do not match any pattern from known radio sources and could indicate a new type of astronomical object. “The strangest property of the new signal is its high polarization. Its light oscillates in only one direction, but that direction rotates over time,” says lead author of the study on the signal, Ziteng Wang of the University of Sydney. The brightness of the object also fluctuates greatly by a factor of 100 and the signal is not turned on or off according to any recognizable pattern. We’ve never seen anything like this before. “At first, the researchers thought the primary object could be a pulsar. With this type of celestial body, the brightness also varies greatly over time. Another possibility was an object with intense solar flares. But the pattern didn’t match either one or the other. The object, named “ASKAP J173608.2-321635”, was discovered using the Western Australian Askap Radio Telescope based on its radio signature and subsequently examined with the South African Meerkat Telescope. Researchers will continue to monitor it for clues about the astronomical object that sends radio waves.