Artist’s impression of ASKAP J1839-0756. James Josephides
Research led by OzGrav PhD student Yu Wing Joshua Lee and supervisor Dr Manisha Caleb at the University of Sydney has uncovered the slowest cosmic lighthouse yet – a long-period radio transient – likely a neutron star – spinning once every 6.5 hours. This discovery, found using CSIRO ASKAP radio telescope and published in Nature […]
Research led by OzGrav PhD student Yu Wing Joshua Lee and supervisor Dr Manisha Caleb at the University of Sydney has uncovered the slowest cosmic lighthouse yet – a long-period radio transient – likely a neutron star – spinning once every 6.5 hours. This discovery, found using CSIRO ASKAP radio telescope and published in Nature Astronomy, not only pushes the boundaries of what we thought possible for such objects, which typically rotate very quickly, but also reveals a rare phenomenon: the ability to see radio pulses from both of the star’s magnetic poles.
Find out more about their discovery in their paper published in Nature Astronomy now: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41550-024-02452-z
You can also read about it in The Conversation: https://theconversation.com/blinking-radio-pulses-from-space-hint-at-a-cosmic-object-that-shouldnt-exist-246663
Watch Joshua Lee discuss this discovery with Dr Kirsten Banks in the video below: