Aliens reaching out? Strange cosmic object blasts Earth with regular signals, leaving scientists stunned

A mysterious object in deep space, ASKAP J1832-0911, is sending repeating radio and X-ray signals to Earth every 44 minutes. Scientists are baffled and say it might reveal new physics or something stranger.

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Astronomers have discovered a mysterious object in deep space that is sending out regular, unexplained signals toward Earth. The object, called ASKAP J1832-0911, emits strong pulses of radio waves and X-rays for two full minutes and it does this every 44 minutes.

Scientists are puzzled by this strange behaviour and say they have no clear explanation for it yet.

What is ASKAP J1832-0911?

The object was found using the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) telescope and confirmed by NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory. It is part of a rare group of space objects called long-period transients (LPTs).

LPTs are extremely unusual because they send out signals at long intervals, minutes or even hours apart. Until recently, scientists thought this kind of regular timing was impossible in space objects.

So far, only ten LPTs have ever been found.

What makes it special?

This is the first time an LPT has been detected in both radio waves and X-rays. Normally, space objects only emit one type of signal. This double detection is what makes ASKAP J1832-0911 especially mysterious.

“This object is unlike anything we have seen before,” said Andy Wang, the lead researcher from Curtin University in Australia.

Scientists believe it could be a magnetar (a super-magnetic dead star) or a highly magnetised white dwarf in a binary star system — but even those ideas do not explain everything.

Could it be aliens?

Although scientists are careful not to jump to conclusions, the fact that these signals are regular, powerful, and mysterious has led some to wonder if they could be artificial,  maybe even signs of alien technology.

“This discovery could reveal new physics or a new kind of star we’ve never seen before,” said Wang.

What researchers say about the object

The researchers say they need more data. They hope to spot similar objects using both radio and X-ray telescopes at the same time.

“Finding just one tells us that more might be out there,” said Nanda Rea, a co-author of the study from Spain.

The discovery was published on May 28 in the journal Nature.