Australia Scientists Find 'Spooky' Spinning Object in Milky Way
upstart writes:
Australia scientists find 'spooky' spinning object in Milky Way:
Australian scientists say they have discovered an unknown spinning object in the Milky Way that they claim is unlike anything seen before.
The object - first discovered by a university student - has been observed to release a huge burst of radio energy for a full minute every 18 minutes. Objects that pulse energy in the universe are often documented. But researchers say something that turns on for a minute is highly unusual.
The team is working to understand more. The object was first discovered by Curtin University Honours student Tyrone O'Doherty in a region of the Western Australian outback known as the Murchison Widefield Array, using a telescope and a new technique he had developed.
[...] Theories around what the object might be include a neutron star or a white dwarf - a term used for the remnants of a collapsed star. However, much of the discovery remains a mystery.
"More detections will tell astronomers whether this was a rare one-off event or a vast new population we'd never noticed before," Dr Hurley-Walker said. "I'm looking forward to understanding this object and then extending the search to find more."
Neutron star on Wikipedia.
White dwarf on Wikipedia.
Also at ICRAR (International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research) which has informative depictions and a link to a video on YouTube.
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