Mysterious radio signals from the center of the Milky Way have been detected

By entrepreneur in Spanish

If anything has become clear in recent years, it’s that we largely ignore what is going on outside of Earth (also inside of Earth). Millionaires embody a battle to reach the Moon, Mars and the ends of the galaxy, but there are countless unknowns. Such is the case of a mysterious new radio signal coming from the center of the Milky Way.

The technical name of the waves is ASKAP J173608.2-321635. Scientists have yet to find out what this might be. The signal was detected six times between January and September 2020, then reappeared until February 7 of this year.

In a study on the discovery, which has not yet been published in The Astrophysical Journal, but can be viewed on the arXiv server, the researchers explain that it is “a highly polarized, variable and spectrum radio. with a steep slope ”.

“ASKAP J173608.2-321635, may be part of a new class of objects discovered through radio imaging studies,” write the authors.

How did they find out about the signs?

Thanks to the Australian Square Kilometer Array Pathfinder (ASKAP), a radio telescope – a set of 36 antennas, 12 meters (39 feet) in diameter, which work as one and make it one of the most sensitive in the world. It is designed to analyze cosmic magnetism, identify black holes and explore the origin of galaxies.

The signal is unknown, several types of stars have been discarded. But it shares some properties with the Galactic Center Radio Transients (GCRT), another mysterious signal discovered in 2000, which is also emitted from the center of the Milky Way.

To find out what it is, researchers need to watch radio signals for longer. In this way, some models that have not been seen before could be established. “We will be able to understand how unique ASKAP J173608.2-321635 really is and if it is galactic plane related, which should ultimately help us infer its nature.”