Scientists Capture , Radio Signals , From Long-Dormant Star.
'The Independent' reports that scientists have been puzzled after receiving unprecedented radio signals from a previously dormant star.
The star, named XTE J1810-197, is a magnetar.
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Magnetars are a type of neutron star and are the most powerful magnets in the universe.
XTE J1810-197 is the nearest known magnetar to Earth, about 8,000 light years away.
Now, scientists have received radio pulses from the dormant star that do not fit previous expectations.
Unlike the radio signals we’ve seen from other magnetars, this one is emitting enormous amounts of rapidly changing circular polarisation.
We had never seen anything like this before, Marcus Lower, Postdoctoral fellow at Australia’s national science agency, CSIRO, via 'The Independent'.
Scientists discovered that the new pulses are emitting a type of spiraling light that is different from the polarized light emitted by most other magnetars.
In 2003, XTE J1810-197 became the first known magnetar to produce a radio signal.
After being discovered, the magnetar then went silent for over a decade.
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The team that discovered it said that the findings could change our understanding of intense magnetic fields.
The signals emitted from this magnetar imply that interactions at the surface of the star are more complex than previous theoretical explanations, Manisha Caleb, University of Sydney, a co-author on the study, via 'The Independent'.
The team's findings were published in the journal 'Nature Astronomy.'
