supernovae, flaring stars, and fast radio bursts. The object emitting signals from the Milky Way’s center doesn’t resemble any of these, however.“At first, we thought it could be a pulsar — a very dense type of spinning dead star — or else a type of star that emits huge solar flares. But the signals from this new source don’t match what we expect from these types of celestial objects,” Mr.
Wang said.Research about the celestial object appeared in the Astrophysical Journal.Mr. Wang collaborated with scientists from Australia’s national science agency CSIRO, Germany, the United States, Canada, South Africa, Spain, and France. The international team found the galactic object with the CSIRO’s ASKAP radio telescope in Western Australia.
They also used the South African Radio Astronomy Observatory’s MeerKAT telescope for additional observations.Mr. Wang’s Ph.D. supervisor from the Sydney Institute for Astronomy and the School of Physics, Professor Tara Murphy, commented on the findings.Professor Murphy said: “We have been surveying the sky with ASKAP to find unusual new objects with a project known as Variables and Slow Transients (VAST), throughout 2020 and 2021.“Looking towards the center of the Galaxy, we found ASKAP J173608.2-321635, named after its coordinates.
This object was unique in that it started invisibly, became bright, faded away, and then reappeared. This behavior was extraordinary.”The team observed six radio signals from the galactic center for nine months in 2020. The astronomers wanted to take it a step further and locate the object in visible light.
Waves
BURST
Parke
Tara Murphy
