Freakish object blasts X-rays and radio waves every 44 minutes, baffling scientists worldwide

Astronomers have uncovered a cosmic enigma that defies all explanation: a space object repeatedly firing off intense bursts of both radio waves and X-rays every 44 minutes. The phenomenon, spotted by researchers from the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR) and international collaborators, has left scientists baffled and excited in equal measure.

The mysterious object, designated ASKAP J1832-0911, is part of a rare new class of space oddities known as long-period transients (LPTs). These celestial bodies emit short, sudden flashes of radio energy, sometimes hours apart. But what makes ASKAP J1832-0911 truly extraordinary is that it also shoots out X-rays—something no LPT has ever done before.

The discovery was a stroke of luck and timing. The ASKAP radio telescope, located on Wajarri Country in Australia and operated by CSIRO, picked up radio pulses from the object. At the very same time, NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory, which surveys a much narrower slice of the sky, happened to be watching the exact same region. That coincidence proved crucial.

“Finding that ASKAP J1832-0911 was emitting X-rays felt like finding a needle in a haystack,” said Dr Ziteng (Andy) Wang, lead author of the study and a researcher at Curtin University’s ICRAR node. “ASKAP covers a vast portion of the night sky, while Chandra looks at just a tiny part—so the overlap was sheer fortune.”

Since the first LPT was discovered in 2022 by ICRAR astronomers, scientists have logged around ten similar cases. But none had ever revealed such high-energy behaviour as ASKAP J1832-0911. It pulses for two full minutes every 44 minutes, and then falls silent—until the eerie cycle restarts.

Theories abound. Dr Wang suggests it could be a magnetar, a type of ultra-magnetic neutron star formed from the collapse of a dying giant. Or perhaps it’s a binary system—two stars orbiting each other—where one might be a highly magnetised white dwarf. But even these theories fall short of fully explaining the object’s bizarre behaviour.

“This object is unlike anything we’ve seen before,” Dr Wang added. “It might force us to rewrite what we know about dying stars and extreme space physics.”

That sentiment is echoed by Professor Nanda Rea, co-author and astrophysicist at Spain’s Institute of Space Science (ICE-CSIC) and the Catalan Institute for Space Studies (IEEC).

“Finding even one such object hints at the existence of many more,” she said. “The fact that it gives off both radio and X-ray signals cracks open an entirely new door to understanding how these cosmic phenomena work.”

She also praised the international teamwork behind the discovery. Scientists from various countries, with diverse expertise, pulled together data and analysis to uncover the nature of ASKAP J1832-0911. This collaboration could pave the way for deeper insights into what else might be lurking in the void of space.

With X-rays carrying far more energy than radio waves, any future theory must explain how one object can emit both forms of radiation, regularly and without fail. It’s a riddle that could ultimately reshape our understanding of stellar evolution, or perhaps even hint at new physical laws.

For now, though, ASKAP J1832-0911 remains a blinking, booming mystery in the deep sky—calling out across the void every 44 minutes, as though waiting for someone to answer.