Astronomers have discovered a strange new celestial object in our Milky Way galaxy, emitting X-rays around the same time it shoots out radio waves. Located 15,000 light-years away, this object could be a highly magnetized dead star or something exotic and unknown. The cycle repeats every 44 minutes, at least during periods of extreme activity.
The discovery was made using NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory, which spotted the X-ray emissions by chance last year while focusing on a supernova remnant. However, the uncertain distance makes it difficult to determine if the object is associated with the supernova remnant or not.
The hyperactive phase of this object appeared to last about a month, but outside of that period, the star did not emit any noticeable X-rays. This could mean more of these objects may be out there, scientists say.
Lead author Ziteng Andy Wang believes that studying this object brings us closer to two possibilities: either we are uncovering something entirely new or seeing a known type of object emitting radio and X-ray waves in a way we’ve never observed before.
Source: https://apnews.com/article/strange-celestial-object-milky-way-7c119d11d37b2b5b0fa254154b4aba8e