Unknown object is firing strange signals at Earth every 44 minutes on the dot, 'unlike anything we have seen'

Astronomers have identified a celestial oddity that beams radio waves and X-rays in perfect concert, pulsing every 44 minutes with clockwork regularity. The newcomer – cataloged as ASKAP J1832-0911 – belongs to a recently discovered family of objects known as long-period transients, or LPTs.

Yet in one crucial respect, the new object stands alone: it is the first of its kind ever caught emitting energetic X-rays as well as radio flashes.

This lifts the curtain on a cosmic mystery that has puzzled scientists since LPTs were first reported two years ago.

The discovery comes from an international collaboration led by researchers at Australia’s International Center for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR) and Curtin University.

ASKAP J1832-0911 is puzzling

ASKAP J1832-0911 announced itself as a two-minute burst of radio energy, repeating like a lighthouse flash every forty-four minutes.

While that cadence alone marked it as unusual, the real surprise came when researchers realized Chandra had been observing that exact patch of sky at precisely the same time.

In the X-ray data, they found pulses perfectly synchronized with the radio flashes.

“Discovering that ASKAP J1832-0911 was emitting X-rays felt like finding a needle in a haystack,” said lead author Dr. Ziteng (Andy) Wang of ICRAR’s Curtin node.

“The ASKAP radio telescope has a wide field view of the night sky, while Chandra observes only a fraction of it,” he said. “So, it was fortunate that Chandra observed the same area of the night sky at the same time.”

Until now, astronomers had detected only radio waves from LPTs. X-rays are far more energetic, implying that whatever is happening around ASKAP J1832-0911 involves extreme physical conditions – powerful magnetic fields, intense gravity, or both.

The dual signal therefore provides a fresh window into the engines that drive these cosmic metronomes.

Long-period transients (LPT)

Long-period transients burst onto the scientific scene in 2022. That’s when ICRAR researchers reported a radio source that winked on for about a minute every eighteen minutes.

Since then, astronomers have found ten examples, each pulsing every several minutes to hours with a unique rhythm.

By contrast, most known pulsars spin hundreds of times per second, and even the slowest ordinary pulsars repeat in the span of a few seconds. LPTs therefore occupy a domain that defies existing categories.

No single theory yet explains why LPTs shine so briefly and then fall silent for such long stretches. The pulses’ strength suggests highly coherent emission, a hallmark of neutron stars – dense stellar cores left behind after supernova explosions. Yet the unusually long intervals remain a puzzle.

The new detection of X-rays adds another twist, because any successful theory must now account for power across a broader energy range.

Studying ASKAP J1832-0911 with Chandra

“This object is unlike anything we have seen before,” Wang said. “ASKAP J1832-0911 could be a magnetar (the core of a dead star with powerful magnetic fields). It could be a pair of stars in a binary system where one of the two is a highly magnetized white dwarf (a low-mass star at the end of its evolution).”

Because X-rays trace higher-energy processes than radio waves, they offer a critical fingerprint of the object’s environment.

If the X-ray and radio pulses originate from a magnetar, Chandra’s data suggest the star’s magnetic field may be twisting and snapping, accelerating particles to relativistic speeds.

X-rays may form as matter from one star in a binary system crashes into the other’s magnetic poles. Either scenario pushes existing models to their limits.

X-rays guide the hunt

Detecting X-rays from an LPT has another practical consequence: it gives astronomers a new handle for finding more of them.

“Finding one such object hints at the existence of many more,” said Professor Nanda Rea of the Institute of Space Science in Spain, a co-author of the study. “The discovery of its transient X-ray emission opens fresh insights into their mysterious nature.”

Because radio telescopes like ASKAP monitor huge areas of the sky, they excel at flagging transient radio flashes. X-ray observatories, though narrower in field, can now be aimed at those radio-identified coordinates to look for matching bursts.

A growing catalog of dual-wavelength detections would help pin down shared characteristics and reveal which theoretical models survive scrutiny.

Global eyes on space

The work underscores the synergy between ground-based radio arrays and space-based X-ray telescopes – and the global teams that operate them.

Australia’s ASKAP, situated in Wajarri Country, provides wide-field radio coverage, while NASA’s Chandra supplies high-resolution X-ray imaging. Researchers from institutions across continents contributed to analyzing the data and interpreting the unusual signals.

“What was also truly remarkable is that this study showcases an incredible team effort, with contributions from researchers across the globe with different and complementary expertise,” Rea noted.

Stranger pulsing signal emerges

For now, ASKAP J1832-0911 stands as the first – and so far only – pulse known to broadcast in both radio and X-ray wavelengths. Each pulse, two minutes long, repeats with uncanny precision every forty-four minutes.

This pattern challenges astronomers to rethink assumptions about compact objects and magnetic fields.

Whether the source is a hyper-magnetized neutron star, a white dwarf binary, or something entirely new, its discovery marks a turning point in the study of slow but powerful cosmic transients.

By linking x-ray and radio pulses, the discovery narrows possible explanations and paves the way for future surveys.

As telescopes refine their coordination across wavelengths, scientists anticipate that more objects like ASKAP J1832-0911 will come to light, each bearing clues to the extreme physics governing the universe’s strangest beacons.

The study is published in the journal Nature.

Image Credit: Ziteng (Andy) Wang, ICRAR

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