Unknown space object beaming out radio signals every 18 minutes remains a mystery

Sign up for CNN’s Wonder Theory science newsletter. CNN — While mapping radio waves across the universe, astronomers happened upon a celestial object releasing giant bursts of energy – and it’s unlike anything they’ve ever seen before. Dr Natasha Hurley-Walker/ICRAR/Curtin/GLEAM “When studying transients, you’re watching the death of a massive star or the activity of the remnants it leaves behind,” said study coauthor Gemma Anderson, ICRAR-Curtin astrophysicist, in a statement. ‘Fast transients’ – like a type of neutron star called a pulsar – flash on and off within milliseconds or seconds.” This new, incredibly bright object, however, only turned on for about a minute every 18 minutes. ICRAR “It’s a type of slowly spinning neutron star that has been predicted to exist theoretically,” Hurley-Walker said.