A strange object is sending radio signals through space and experts don't know why
Our understanding of space is ever-growing, but what lies beyond earth is so huge that astronomers often face stumbling blocks that prevent them from getting their head round just exactly what is going on beyond our planet.
This is what has happened over in Australia, where astronomers, including one from University of Edinburgh, have stumbled across a strange object that is emitting radio waves every two minutes - and they don't know why.
The object - a long-period transient (LPT) - is emitting pulses of radio waves and X-rays for two minutes every 44 minutes. LPTs are a relatively new class of astrophysical objects that are known to emit radio waves periodically.
This is unusually slow compared to most periodic radio objects.
However, this is the first time such objects have been detected in X-rays.
There is currently no clear explanation for what is causing the signals, or why they 'switch on' and 'switch off' at such long, regular and unusual intervals.
When the LPT is 'on,' it is so bright that the Milky Way gas is blocking out some of the radio light.
Explanations could be that the object is a magnetar - the core of a dead star with powerful magnetic fields - or a pair of stars in a binary system where one of the two is a highly magnetised white dwarf.
In other words, a low-mass star at the end of its evolution.
However, even those theories do not fully explain what is being seen up above.
Incredibly, the discovery could even hint at a new type of physics or new models of stellar evolution.
Astronomers from the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR) made the finding, which they hope may provide insights into what is behind other mysterious signals which have been spotted across the sky.
The team discovered the object by joining the dots between the radio signals with X-ray pulses detected by NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, which just happened to be observing the same part of the sky.
Dr Marcin Glowacki from the University of Edinburgh School's Institute for Astronomy was involved in the collaboration. He looked for hydrogen gas located between the LPT and Earth.
By detecting this gas within the LPT signal, he was able to place a lower limit on how far away this unusual object is, which was important to rule out a link with other objects in that part of the sky.
The investigation continues, but as of yet, there is no clear cut answer to what the curious entity is, and why it's doing what it's doing.
Back in Scotland, people should get ready to witness a phenomenon for themselves, as the Milky Way comes into view this month.
June means that Milky Way "Core Season" is here, according to NASA. This is the time of year when the Milky Way is visible as a faint band of hazy light arching across the sky all night.
Excitingly, the space agency has revealed exactly how and when best to catch a glimpse of it.
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