It's alive! A rare neutron star wakes up suddenly after a long and prolonged sleep



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The researchers found that the emissions of the enigmatic star differed significantly from those it had emitted before 2008, when the celestial body suddenly became silent, to wake up a few months ago.

Scientists from the University of Manchester and the Max Planck Institute of Radio Astronomy have announced that one of the so-called magnetars, unusual neutron stars possessing strong magnetic fields and emitting flashes of rays gamma and X, has again shown signs of activity after being "inactive" since 2008, reports Science Alert.

The star in question, XTE J1810-197, is one of four magnetars (of the 23 currently known) that emit not only radiation, but also radio wave pulses, adds the media.

The research team observes the new batch of radio broadcasts issued by the XTE J1810-197 since December 8, highlighting a significant difference between the star's activity and its "before sleep" behavior.

"The pulse changes observed so far from the source are much less dramatic, on time scales ranging from a few hours to several months, to those observed in 2006," scientists said.

READ MORE: A mysterious ring of cosmic dust just 77 million km from Earth

As noted by the media, another team of astronomers has also used NASA's Deep Space Network to observe the XTE J1810-197 and "two of its radio magnet cousins", highlighting the "strange variations" of the airwaves. radio emitted by the star.

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