Astronomers using the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) radio telescope have discovered a mysterious, spherical object in deep space. Named Teleios, which means “perfection” in Greek, the object is invisible apart from its radio emissions and has features that both support and contradict its classification as a supernova remnant (SNR).
The team behind the discovery, led by a study titled “The mystery of a perfectly shaped new Galactic supernova remnant,” have identified several unusual properties of Teleios. The object displays remarkable circular symmetry in shape, consistent with known SNRs. However, it is unusually dim for a Galactic SNR and lacks detectable X-ray emissions.
To explain Teleios’ unusual properties, the team proposes three potential formation scenarios. These include the object being an SNR approximately 7,175 light-years from Earth, spanning around forty light-years in diameter; an SNR 25,114 light-years away, spanning around 157 light years across; or a Type Iax supernova, “zombie star” remnant.
Despite these scenarios, the team concludes that classifying Teleios as one particular type of SNR is not currently possible due to its unusual properties. They emphasize the need for new and high-resolution observations to resolve the object’s origin.
Source: https://thedebrief.org/astronomers-detect-mysterious-perfectly-spherical-object-in-deep-space-emitting-radio-signals