Astronomers have detected a strange, persistent “heartbeat” radio signal from a distant galaxy.
It has been classified as a fast radio burst (FRB), but where these signals are usually intensely strong broadcasts of radio waves of unknown origin, which usually last a few milliseconds at most, this is different.
The new signal, which appears to flash with a beating heart-like pattern, lasts up to three seconds, about 1,000 times longer than an average FRB.
The news of the discovery comes the same week that incredible images of a dying star and a “cosmic dance” were revealed in an extraordinary set of NASA photos.
The team detected bursts of radio waves that are repeated every 0.2 seconds inside this window, in a clear periodic pattern.
Researchers say there are very few things in the universe that emitted these strictly periodic signals.
Daniele Michilli, a postdoctoral fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research, explained: “The examples we know of in our own galaxy are radio pulsars and magnets, which rotate and produce a light emission similar to a lighthouse.
“And we think this new signal could be a magnet or a pulsar with steroids.”
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Radio pulsars and magnets are types of neutron stars: collapsed nuclei of extremely dense, rapidly rotating giant stars.
Called FRB 20191221A, the signal is currently the most durable FRB, with the clearest periodic pattern detected to date.
Its source is in a distant galaxy, several billion light-years from Earth.
The team hopes to detect more periodic signals from this source, which could then be used as an astrophysical clock.