Scientists baffled by mysterious hourly space signal from ASKAP telescope

A signal from space has reached Earth, and scientists are struggling to explain it. It repeats every hour and goes through various phases.

Scientists regularly receive various types of signals from space. Continuous research is underway primarily to improve communication between Earth and space. One of the latest projects was shared by NASA, which reported positive tests of a new laser communication system that created a laser beam capable of traveling several million miles (approximately 4.8 million kilometres).

The above example, however, is fully understood and controlled by scientists. The same cannot be said about the ASKAP J1935+2148 signal, as reported by the Astronomy portal. This is a signal detected by the ASKAP radio telescope in Australia, which scientists cannot explain.

So far, scientists have observed that the ASKAP J1935+2148 signal has a pulsation period of 53.8 minutes and – as we read – this is the only normal thing about its pulsations. ASKAP J1935+2148 most likely goes through three different phases, leading it to be classified as an irregular and long-lasting signal source.

Sometimes, this signal takes the form of flashes lasting 10 to 50 seconds, while at other times, the pulsations are weaker and last only about 370 milliseconds. Scientists have also observed that the ASKAP J1935+2148 flashes sometimes do not arrive when expected. Therefore, it is difficult to determine precisely where the signal source's strange and irregular behaviour comes from.

Suspicions about the source of the mysterious signal are currently directed towards two objects: a white dwarf and a neutron star. Although neither matches 100% with what is currently known about ASKAP J1935+2148, experts suspect that a neutron star is a better explanation.

Scientists point out that these objects are characterized by the emission of radio waves, while the state changes observed in irregular signals may be due to the presence of strong magnetic fields and plasma flows associated with the star.

Some suspicions about the signal's source coincide with the properties of neutron stars. The problem, however, is that science does not currently know of such objects that would rotate at a speed allowing for the emission of a signal every 50 minutes. This is because current science proves that neutron stars rotate around their axis in a few seconds (or fractions of a second).

At such a rotation speed, it is not possible to send pulses every 53 minutes. Therefore, another potential source of signal emission could be a white dwarf. These objects rotate slowly around their axis, but on the other hand, no such object has been identified to date that could emit such strong signals.

Scientists are currently unable to explain exactly what ASKAP J1935+2148 is and where it originates. In the near future, they will focus on analysing the behaviour of this mysterious signal.