Newly discovered MAGNETAR signal changes understanding of mysterious radio bursts in deep space – RT World News



[ad_1]

Explosions of radio and radiographic activity from a star with an extremely strong magnetic field may have given astronomers a new clue to unraveling the mystery of outer space ‘rapid radio burst’ signals.

The puzzling phenomena of rapid radio bursts have left astronomers scratching their heads since their discovery in 2007. The bizarre explosions can emit as much power as 500 million suns, but they only last a few milliseconds and happen without any warning.

A widely held explanation for the fascinating signals remains elusive. Due to their remarkable brightness, some experts believe that they must be produced by incredibly powerful events.

New observations have shown that bursts of radio emission from a magnetar – a neutron star with an extremely strong magnetic field – 16,700 light years away have striking similarities to bursts that have been detected from a magnetar in our own galaxy – known as SGR 1935 + 2154 – earlier this year.

Signals from the distant magnetar – which bears the catchy name 1E 1547.0-5408 – escape the previous interpretation of a rapid radio burst, so scientists have had to broaden the definition.

“The new findings on SGR 1935 + 2154 and 1E 1547.0-5408 changed the definition of FRB itself,” one of the researchers, Gianluca Israel of the Rome Astronomical Observatory, told ScienceAlert.

“The emerging scenario is one of a continuum of radio burst properties and energies, bridging the gap between the giant pulses of ‘ordinary’ radio pulsars and rapid radio bursts.

Scientists hope their observations will finally help find out what exactly causes the strange astrophysical phenomena, of which little is known yet.

“All the discoveries go in the same direction: they deepen our understanding of nature and the universe”, Israel added.

The main theory suggests that bursts are caused by cataclysmic events like the collision of very dense objects, such as black holes or neutron stars. However, others have offered even more outlandish explanations. One study even suggested they could power “solar sails” on a colossal alien spacecraft.



Also on rt.com
Mysterious shards of deep space REPEATING with the power of millions of suns every 157 days are AGAIN


Do you like this story? Share it with a friend!

[ad_2]

Source link