Mysterious Space Object Is Pumping Out a Pair of Signals That Shouldn’t Go Together

Astronomers have discovered a strange new object that behaves unlike any observed before. The hope is that the source will provide some much-needed insight into the origin of mysterious cosmic signals that have puzzled experts for the last several years. A team of researchers led by astronomers from the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR) in Australia found the object—known as ASKAP J1832-0911—using the ASKAP radio telescope, which picked up pulses of radio waves emanating from it. This suggests that it belongs to a mysterious, recently discovered class of objects called long-period transients (LPTs), which emit radio pulses over unusually long and regular intervals—typically minutes or hours apart. Since LPT signals were first detected by ICRAR astronomers in 2022, only 10 of these objects have been documented, according to a statement from the organization. Astronomers are still trying to figure out exactly what LPTs are and why they exhibit such odd behavior ... Read full article.