Scientists and other groups are constantly scanning the sky, trying to gather new information to expand our knowledge of the universe.

One fairly recent discovery is proving to be difficult to understand because of its behavior. When astronomers identified a repeating radio signal, they quickly began analyzing it to see what it might be, and where it is coming from.

In most cases, repeating radio signals of this type are pulsars, which are a kind of neutron star that is formed after a supernova.

These stars are the remains of the material after the supernova, which blasts much of it out into space. The material is extremely dense (the only known thing more dense in the universe is a black hole).

Due to the density and other factors, neutron stars have extremely powerful magnetic fields, which causes them to emit streams of particles into space. Pulsars are neutron stars that rotate, which causes the stream of particles to be emitted in a way that it looks like it is pulsing, hence the name.

In most cases, the spinning of these stars is so rapid that they pulse multiple times per second. The fastest known pulsar has emits the particles 716 times per second.

The source of the new pulsing signal, which has been dubbed ASKAPJ1935+2148, however, is not nearly that fast. It has an interval of 54 minutes.

If it is a pulsar, that would make it the slowest spinning pulsar every found, by a massive margin. Manisha Caleb, the lead author on a study of this signal, commented:

“It is highly unusual to discover a neutron star candidate emitting radio pulsations in this way. The fact that the signal is repeating at such a leisurely pace is extraordinary.”

As if pulsing slightly slower than once per minute wasn’t enough to make this signal stand out, there is more. While studying the object, it was found that it actually emits three separate and unique types of signals.

The study explains that the first one is a strong radio signal, which last anywhere from 10 to 50 seconds. The next is a signal that is 26 times fainter than the other and lasts just a third of a second.

Finally, there is a quiescent state signal.

While the study suggests that this is likely a pulsar, scientists also say that it could be a white dwarf. The problem with this possibility is that if it is a white dwarf, the magnetic field that it has should be so powerful that astronomers would have already detected it using other methods.

Caleb commented further, saying:

This “might even prompt us to reconsider our decades-old understanding of neutron stars or white dwarfs; how they emit radio waves and what their populations are like in our Milky Way galaxy.”

The universe is astounding and constantly surprising even the smartest scientists.

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