https://www.livescience.com/space/unlike-anything-we-have-seen-before-astronomers-discover-mysterious-object-firing-strange-signals-at-earth-every-44-minutes [] Skip to main content (*) ( ) Open menu Close menu Live Science [ ] Search Search Live Science [ ] Sign in * * View Profile * Sign out RSS Sign up to our newsletter Newsletter * * Space * Health * Planet Earth * Animals * Archaeology * Physics & Math * Technology * Human Behavior * Chemistry * More + Science news + Opinion + Life's Little Mysteries + Science quizzes + About us + Newsletters + Follow us + Story archive Trending * Musk's Dragon capsule feud * Nuclear fusion breakthrough * 'Streaks' on Mars * Physicists capture 'second sound' * 2025 Strawberry Full Moon Recommended reading A photograph of the Ursa Major constellation in the night sky. 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A telescope image of the region of sky surrounding ASKAP J1832-0911. A telescope image of the region of sky surrounding ASKAP J1832-0911. (Image credit: Ziteng (Andy) Wang, ICRAR) Astronomers have discovered a mysterious object flashing strange signals from deep space, and they have no idea what it is. The object, named ASKAP J1832-0911, spits out pulses of radio waves and X-rays for two minutes straight, once every 44 minutes. Detected by Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) and NASA's Chandra X-ray observatory, the strange repeating signals are currently unexplained -- and unravelling this cosmic mystery could reveal new physics, according to the researchers who discovered it. The team published their findings May 28 in the journal Nature. You may like * 'Strange' star pulses detected in search for extraterrestrial intelligence * Newly 'awakened' black hole is releasing 100 times more energy than scientists have seen before * Weird repeating nova explosion is one of the hottest blasts ever seen "This object is unlike anything we have seen before," lead study author Andy Wang, an astronomer at Curtin University in Perth, Australia, said in a statement. "ASKAP J1831-0911 could be a magnetar (the core of a dead star with powerful magnetic fields), or it could be a pair of stars in a binary system where one of the two is a highly magnetised white dwarf (a low-mass star at the end of its evolution)." "However, even those theories do not fully explain what we are observing," Wang added. "This discovery could indicate a new type of physics or new models of stellar evolution." ASKAP J1832-0911 is a long-period transient (LPT), a class of rare and extreme astrophysical events that sweep out beams of radio waves like cosmic lighthouses. First discovered in 2022, thus far ten LPTs have been catalogued by astronomers. Related: 'Cosmic cannonballs' exploding out of dead star could explain mysterious flicker in the night sky Sign up for the Live Science daily newsletter now Get the world's most fascinating discoveries delivered straight to your inbox. [ ][ ]Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands[ ]Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors[Sign me up] By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. Unlike traditional pulsars, which are produced by neutron stars and spit out radio signals every few seconds or milliseconds, LPTs emit pulses at intervals of minutes or hours apart -- a period previously thought to be impossible. This has made the cause of the signals, and how they are able to switch on and off at long and regular intervals, a mystery among astronomers. After discovering the signals using the ASKAP telescope, the researchers turned to the Chandra X-ray observatory (which was coincidentally pointing at the same patch of sky) to double check what they had found. Chandra's observations confirmed ASKAP J1832-0911's presence, while also making the first-ever detection of an LPT in X-rays. RELATED STORIES --Immensely powerful 'magnetar' is emitting wobbly radio signals in our galaxy -- and scientists can't explain them --Strange radio bursts that outshine entire galaxies may come from colliding neutron stars --Faint radio signal from ancient star cluster could be rare 'missing link' black hole "Discovering that ASKAP J1832-0911 was emitting X-rays felt like finding a needle in a haystack," Wang said. "The ASKAP radio telescope has a wide field view of the night sky, while Chandra observes only a fraction of it. So, it was fortunate that Chandra observed the same area of the night sky at the same time." The astronomers believe that the detection of an LPT emitting radio waves and X-rays simultaneously could offer them a valuable clue as to what's producing them, as any theory that explains the object must now account for both types of emission. To assemble more of the puzzle, the researchers suggest that more detections using radio and X-ray telescope pairs should be made. "Finding one such object hints at the existence of many more," second author Nanda Rea, an astrophysicist at the Catalan Institute for Space Studies in Spain, said in the statement. "The discovery of its transient X-ray emission opens fresh insights into their mysterious nature." Ben Turner Ben Turner Social Links Navigation Senior Staff Writer Ben Turner is a U.K. based staff writer at Live Science. He covers physics and astronomy, among other topics like tech and climate change. He graduated from University College London with a degree in particle physics before training as a journalist. When he's not writing, Ben enjoys reading literature, playing the guitar and embarrassing himself with chess. You must confirm your public display name before commenting Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name. Logout Read more A photograph of the Ursa Major constellation in the night sky. 'Strange' star pulses detected in search for extraterrestrial intelligence An illustration of a black hole with a small round object approaching it, causing a burst of energy Newly 'awakened' black hole is releasing 100 times more energy than scientists have seen before An illustration of a nova explosion erupting after a white dwarf siphons too much material from its larger stellar companion. 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