Astronomers may have finally cracked the code to a mysterious stellar event known as long-period radio transients, thanks to a groundbreaking discovery by researchers from Curtin University’s International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research.
The team, led by Associate Professor Natasha Hurley-Walker and undergraduate student Csanád Horváth, detected a pulse of bright energy coming from deep space every three hours, lasting 30-60 seconds – the longest-period radio transient ever detected. Using multiple radio telescopes, including the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) and MeerKAT, they traced the source to a specific object in the sky, located 5,000 light-years away in the Puppis constellation.
The team believes the energy burst is generated by a binary system consisting of an M dwarf star and a white dwarf, shedding light on these rare astrophysical events.
Unveiling the Mystery of Long-Period Radio Transients
Astronomers have made a groundbreaking discovery that sheds light on the enigmatic phenomenon of long-period radio transients, rare and extreme astrophysical events that have puzzled scientists for years. Researchers from the Curtin node of the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR) have identified a pulse of bright energy emanating from deep space, which occurs every three hours and lasts 30-60 seconds, making it the longest-period radio transient ever detected.
The Elusive Source of Long-Period Radio Transients
Long-period radio transients are relatively new to science, and their origins have been shrouded in mystery. Until now, all previously discovered transients were located deep within our galaxy, surrounded by stars, making it challenging to determine precisely what generates the radio waves. The discovery of GLEAM-X J0704-37, a long-period radio transient found on the outskirts of our galaxy, has provided a unique opportunity to pinpoint its source.
A Stroke of Good Fortune: Uncovering the Source
The newly discovered transient was found in a less crowded region of space in the Puppis constellation, around 5000 light years away. This fortunate location allowed the team to trace the radio source to a specific object in the sky using multiple radio telescopes, including the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) and the MeerKAT telescope in South Africa. Follow-up observations with the SOAR observatory in Chile revealed that the star system generating the radio waves is an M dwarf, a low-mass star with a mere fraction of the Sun’s mass and luminosity.
The Binary System: A Likely Explanation
The data suggests that the M dwarf is in a binary system with another object, likely to be a white dwarf, the stellar core of a dying star. Together, they power radio emission. Astronomers have detected similar pairs of objects before, but had not previously linked them to long-period radio transients. The team is working on follow-up observations to conclusively determine the nature of the system and provide a definitive explanation for this extreme astrophysical event.
The Murchison Widefield Array: A Treasure Trove of Data
The MWA telescope, located at Inyarrimanha Ilgari Bundara, CSIRO’s Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory, has been observing the sky for over a decade. The archive contains a staggering 55 petabytes of data, equivalent to the storage capacity of 55,000 high-end home computers. This vast repository of observations provides a decade-long record of our Universe, making it an absolute gold mine for discovering more phenomena in our Universe.
Implications and Future Directions
The discovery of GLEAM-X J0704-37 has significant implications for our understanding of the universe. The fact that this long-period radio transient has been active for at least ten years suggests that there may be many more waiting to be discovered in archives around the world. As researchers continue to dig through the MWA archives, they may uncover even more extreme astrophysical events, providing new insights into the workings of our universe.
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