Latest news with #ICRAR
Gizmodo
6 days ago
- General
- Gizmodo
Mysterious Space Object Is Pumping Out a Pair of Signals That Shouldn't Go Together
Astronomers have discovered a strange new object that behaves unlike any observed before. The hope is that the source will provide some much-needed insight into the origin of mysterious cosmic signals that have puzzled experts for the last several years. A team of researchers led by astronomers from the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR) in Australia found the object—known as ASKAP J1832-0911—using the ASKAP radio telescope, which picked up pulses of radio waves emanating from it. This suggests that it belongs to a mysterious, recently discovered class of objects called long-period transients (LPTs), which emit radio pulses over unusually long and regular intervals—typically minutes or hours apart. Since LPT signals were first detected by ICRAR astronomers in 2022, only 10 of these objects have been documented, according to a statement from the organization. Astronomers are still trying to figure out exactly what LPTs are and why they exhibit such odd behavior. In March, there appeared to be a new break in the case when a study linked LPT pulses to a binary star system composed of a white dwarf and a red dwarf, but J1832-0911 has turned out to be especially peculiar. While the ASKAP radio telescope was observing it, NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory just so happened to be looking at the same piece of sky. This revealed that the object, located in the Milky Way some 15,000 light-years from Earth, was also sending out pulses of X-rays. Detecting X-ray emissions from ASKAP J1832-0911 'felt like finding a needle in a haystack,' lead author Ziteng (Andy) Wang, an astronomer at the Curtin University arm of ICRAR, said in the statement. 'The ASKAP radio telescope has a wide field view of the night sky, while Chandra observes only a fraction of it. So, it was fortunate that Chandra observed the same area of the night sky at the same time.' This is the first time that X-ray emissions have been observed from an LPT. J1832-0911 emits radio waves and X-rays simultaneously for a period of two minutes over intervals of 44 minutes, exhibiting properties that are 'unique amongst known galactic objects and require a new explanation,' the authors state in their paper, published today in the journal Nature. Uncovering the true nature of J1832-0911 will require further research, but Wang and his colleagues have some initial ideas about what it might be. 'ASKAP [J1832-0911] could be a magnetar (the core of a dead star with powerful magnetic fields),' he said. Simultaneous pulses of radio waves and X-rays have been observed from magnetars before. Alternatively, 'it could be a pair of stars in a binary system where one of the two is a highly magnetised white dwarf (a low-mass star at the end of its evolution),' Wang added. In this scenario—which has also been previously documented—the interaction between a rapidly spinning, magnetized white dwarf and its companion causes the system to emit pulses that span the electromagnetic spectrum—from X-rays to radio waves. But according to Wang and his colleagues, neither of these possibilities can fully explain what they observed from J1832-0911. Thus, this discovery could indicate that some new physics is taking place, or that astronomers need to tweak existing models of stellar evolution. Now, the search for more of these bizarre objects is on. 'Finding one such object hints at the existence of many more,' co-author Nanda Rea, an astrophysicist at the Institute of Space Science (ICE-CSIC) and the Institute of Space Studies of Catalonia (IEEC) in Spain, said in the statement. The discovery of J1832-0911's transient X-ray emissions 'opens up fresh insights' into the mysterious nature of LPTs, she said.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Chance X-Ray Discovery Reveals Mystery Object 15,000 Light Years Away
The mystery of strangely blinking objects scattered throughout the Milky Way just deepened. Something 15,000 light-years away from the Sun isn't just slowly, methodically beaming out radio waves – each pulse is also blasting emissions in X-ray wavelengths, serendipitous observations have revealed. This behavior is completely new and scientists are at a loss to explain it. "This object is unlike anything we have seen before," says astronomer Ziteng (Andy) Wang of the Curtin University node of the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR) in Australia. For a few years now, powerful radio telescopes in the Australian desert have been collecting observations of strange objects: ones that emit long pulses of radio waves with lengthy pauses between each emission. The first, detailed in a 2022 paper, is 4,000 light-years away, and blasts out 30 to 60 seconds of radio waves every 18 minutes. The next one was found to be 15,000 light-years away emitting five-minute blasts of radio waves every 22 minutes. The third identified, 5,000 light-years away, spits out 30 to 60 seconds of radio waves every 2.9 hours. To date, around 10 of these long-period transients (LPTs), as they are known, have been discovered by astronomers around the world. This newly discovered object ups the ante, however. Named ASKAP J1832-0911, it emits a two minute pulse every 44 minutes that consists of radio waves and X-rays. We might never have known this, either, except that the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder radio telescope and NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory happened to be viewing the same patch of sky at the same time and recorded simultaneous observations that revealed the weird behavior. "Discovering that ASKAP J1832-0911 was emitting X-rays felt like finding a needle in a haystack," Wang says. "The ASKAP radio telescope has a wide field view of the night sky, while Chandra observes only a fraction of it. So, it was fortunate that Chandra observed the same area of the night sky at the same time." The pulses of the object are very bright, and the luminosity of both kinds of emission is correlated. We also know the source is compact, and that no emission was detected prior to November 2023, suggesting that it only recently became active. At this point, however, it starts to become more difficult to narrow down what the object could be. "ASKAP J1831-0911 could be a magnetar (the core of a dead star with powerful magnetic fields), or it could be a pair of stars in a binary system where one of the two is a highly magnetized white dwarf (a low-mass star at the end of its evolution)," Wang says. "However, even those theories do not fully explain what we are observing. This discovery could indicate a new type of physics or new models of stellar evolution." Both explanations have issues. Although the radio and X-ray pulses are in line with with magnetar behavior, the behavior of the object's other emissions are inconsistent with magnetar activity. Conversely, white dwarf emission is seven orders of magnitude weaker than pulses emitted by ASKAP J1831-0911, and polarized in a way we don't see from the mystery object. It remains to be seen whether other LPTs can emit X-radiation in addition to their radio signals, and, if they do, how common the behavior is. It's also possible that ASKAP J1831-0911 is a different kind of object from the other LPTs, but it's more exciting if it's a variation on the theme, since the presence of X-rays means any explanation needs to take them into account. That could help rule out some options, the researchers say. "Finding one such object hints at the existence of many more," says astronomer Nanda Rea of the Institute of Space Science and the Catalan Institute for Space Studies in Spain. "The discovery of its transient X-ray emission opens fresh insights into their mysterious nature." The research has been published in Nature. SpaceX Starship's Latest Test Ends in Destruction Over Indian Ocean Star Caught Orbiting Inside Another Star in Bizarre First JWST's Deepest Gaze at a Single Spot in Space Reveals Ancient Wonders
Yahoo
08-02-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
New fast radio burst detector could sift through 'a whole beach of sand' to solve big cosmic mystery
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Researchers have successfully tested a new technology that detects fast radio bursts in the night sky faster than ever before, uncovering a treasure trove of data to help astronomers investigate the source of these mysterious space phenomena. Developed by astronomers and engineers at Australia's national science agency, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO), the new system — known as the Commensal Realtime ASKAP Fast Transient Coherent, or CRACO — was designed to rapidly detect fast radio bursts (FRBs) and other transient phenomena using CSIRO's ASKAP radio telescope in Western Australia. FRBs are sporadic, intense flashes of radio wave energy that can be brighter than entire galaxies. In just thousandths of a second, an FRB can emit as much energy as the sun does over three days, typically at a radio frequency of about 1,400 hertz. Given their unpredictable nature as well as how fast they can come and go, gathering data on FRBs can be difficult, making them one of astronomy's more exciting mysteries. This data gap is what a team, led by Andy Wang from Curtin University's node of the International Center for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR), set out to solve. Remarkably, in the system's first test, Wang found more objects than he'd anticipated, including two FRBs, a couple of sporadically emitting standard neutron stars, and better data for four known pulsars. The latter helped refine the locations of these pulsars, which are spinning neutron stars. Since that first test, additional searches have found more than 20 FRBs. "We were focused on finding fast radio bursts, a mysterious phenomenon that has opened up a new field of research in astronomy," Dr. Wang said in an ICRAR statement. "CRACO is enabling us to find these bursts better than ever before. We have been searching for bursts 100 times per second and in the future we expect this will increase to 1,000 times per second." Keith Bannister, a CSIRO astronomer and engineer who led the team that built CRACO, likened its capabilities to "sifting through a whole beach of sand to look for a single five-cent coin every minute." The system processes about 100 billion pixels per second, scanning ASKAP's "live" view of the sky in search of fleeting cosmic signals. Located at Inyarrimanha Ilgari Bundara, the CSIRO Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory on Wajarri Yamaji Country, the ASKAP radio telescope is already a major radio astronomy facility for international scientists, so CRACO's integration into ASKAP is expected to broaden the observatory's scientific impact worldwide. Related Stories: — Astronomers have pinpointed the origin of mysterious repeating radio bursts from space — Where do fast radio bursts come from? Astronomers tie mysterious eruptions to massive galaxies — Mysterious fast radio bursts could be caused by asteroids slamming into dead stars "Once at full capacity, CRACO will be a game changer for international astronomy," Wang said. "We're also detecting long-period transients, which remain mysterious objects within our galaxy. Both fast radio bursts and these transients were first discovered in Australia, so it is great that we're continuing the path of discovery with this impressive technology." As part of CSIRO's Australia Telescope National Facility, CRACO will soon be available to astronomers around the globe, enabling rapid identification of transient celestial signals and paving the way for further discoveries in the cosmos. The first batch of findings was published this week in Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia.
Associated Press
27-01-2025
- Science
- Associated Press
Australian innovation ‘sifts' space for mysteries
The first trial of an Australian-developed technology has detected mysterious objects by sifting through signals from space like sand on a beach. PERTH, AUSTRALIA, January 28, 2025 / / -- The first trial of an Australian-developed technology has detected mysterious objects by sifting through signals from space like sand on a beach. Astronomers and engineers at CSIRO, Australia's national science agency, developed the specialised system, CRACO, for their ASKAP radio telescope to rapidly detect mysterious fast radio bursts and other space phenomena. The new technology has now been put to the test by researchers led by the Curtin University node of the International Centre for Radio Astronomy (ICRAR) in Western Australia. Results published today in Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia present the discovery of two fast radio bursts and two sporadically-emitting neutron stars, and improved location data of four pulsars, enabled by the new technology. They have since gone on to find more than twenty fast radio bursts. Dr Andy Wang from ICRAR, who led the research group and tested CRACO, said the team had found more astronomical objects than expected. 'We were focused on finding fast radio bursts, a mysterious phenomenon that has opened up a new field of research in astronomy. 'CRACO is enabling us to find these bursts better than ever before. We have been searching for bursts 100 times per second and in the future we expect this will increase to 1,000 times per second,' Dr Wang said. CSIRO astronomer and engineer Dr Keith Bannister who, along with his team, developed the instrument, says the scale of observation enabled by the new technology is enormous. 'CRACO taps into ASKAP's 'live' view of the sky in search of fast radio bursts. 'To do this, it scans through huge volumes of data – processing 100 billion pixels per second – to detect and identify the location of bursts. 'That's the equivalent of sifting through a whole beach of sand to look for a single five-cent coin every minute,' Dr Bannister said. CRACO is made up of a cluster of computers and accelerators connected to the ASKAP radio telescope at Inyarrimanha Ilgari Bundara, the CSIRO Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory on Wajarri Yamaji Country. Development of this technology reinforces Australia's international reputation as a leader in radio astronomy engineering and research. 'Once at full capacity, CRACO will be a game changer for international astronomy,' Dr Wang said. CRACO has been engineered to sift through the trillions of pixels received by the telescope to find anomalies, alerting researchers the moment it spots something out of the ordinary, allowing them to quickly follow up to obtain more data and complete their own analysis. Dr Wang and his team increasingly expanded CRACO's research targets to find more exotic sources. 'We're also detecting long-period transients, which remain mysterious objects within our galaxy. Both fast radio bursts and these transients were first discovered in Australia, so it is great that we're continuing the path of discovery with this impressive technology,' Dr Wang said. CRACO will soon be made available to astronomers all over the world as part of CSIRO's Australia Telescope National Facility, a suite of national research infrastructure which includes Murriyang, CSIRO's Parkes radio telescope. The CRACO system was developed through collaboration between CSIRO and Australian and international researchers and was partially funded through an Australian Research Council grant. Charlene D'Monte +61 468 579 311 X LinkedIn Instagram YouTube Other Legal Disclaimer:
