Space is full of wonderful and weird things. Indeed, it's humbling to think of how insignificant our planet actually is in the vast void of the universe. Nevertheless, we continue to look to the skies. After all, humanity continues to seek an answer to the age-old question of 'are we alone out here?'
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Well, scientists have just discovered something new, and it's enough to make you sit up and pay attention. Apparently, an unusual star system that has been emitting radio signals every eight minutes has been discovered. The catch? It's in deep space.
"Astronomers in Australia have linked the regular radio pulses to an unusual pairing of celestial bodies 5,000 light-years from Earth," The New York Post reports. "One is a dead star that spins every eight minutes, and the other is a star similar to our own sun."
The system reportedly consists of two stars orbiting each other. One star is a white dwarf, which is a dense core left behind after a star has died. The other is a 'G-type' star, which is similar to our own sun.
"This is the first time the pulses are clear enough to see the white dwarf moving in its orbit around its companion. So, we know that the pulsations are coming from a region close to the white dwarf. Or, possibly even from the white dwarf itself," Dr. Sam McSweeney, the lead on the study, said.
It's Unclear Which Star Is Sending Radio Signals
Despite the discovery, it is still unclear which star is creating and sending the radio signals. However, the study did lead to a learning experience, which ensures the work wasn't done in vain.
"Study co-author Associate Professor Natasha Hurley-Walker says that the pulses emitted by the white dwarf allowed the team to detect stellar flares on the Sun-like star, similar to those that create aurorae on Earth," The New York Post reported.
Of course, more research will likely be conducted on the star system in the near future. Yet the most encouraging aspect of this whole situation is that researchers will now have new ways to detect and explore other star systems farther into space as new technology continues to develop.
"If we are already making such discoveries with precursor telescopes, just imagine how many more star systems we will be able to find, and what a beautifully detailed view of their signals we will have, once the SKAO telescopes are completely built," McSweeney said.
Sadly, the radio signals being emitted from that star system weren't from a lifeform trying to make contact. Maybe in the future the outcome will be different.
