Astronomers just found a stellar Rosetta Stone that could finally decode deep space’s weirdest signals
(Image for representation: Goggle Nano banana)For years, astronomers have been puzzled by a set of mysterious radio signals arriving from different parts of our galaxy. These signals, known as long-period radio transients (LPTs), appear at regular intervals but do not behave like any known cosmic objects. Now, researchers believe they may finally have found the key to understanding them. A team led by scientists at the University of Sydney has identified an unusual star system that appears to produce one of these strange signals. Writing in the journal Nature Astronomy, the researchers describe the system as a possible “stellar Rosetta Stone” that could help decode similar signals detected across the Milky Way.The newly discovered system, called ASKAP J1745−5051, consists of two stars locked in an incredibly tight orbit. One is a white dwarf, the dense remnant of a dead star about the size of Earth but with a mass similar to the Sun. The other is a much smaller red dwarf star with roughly one-tenth of the Sun’s mass. The two stars orbit each other in just over an hour, bringing them so close together that their magnetic fields interact intensely. According to the researchers, these magnetic interactions generate powerful radio bursts at specific points during the orbit, creating a repeating signal that can be detected from Earth.
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