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yesterday

Rare 44-Minute Radio Transient Emits X-Rays in Unprecedented Detection

ASKAP J1832-0911’s two-minute bursts defy known dead-star models, prompting ongoing observations.

An image of the sky shows the region around ASKAP J1832-0911. X-ray observations are from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory, radio data from the South African MeerKAT radio telescope, and infrared data from NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope.
A wide field composite image shows ASKAP J1832 in X-ray, radio, and infrared light.
The ASKAP radio telescope is seen in Wajarri Yamaji Country in Western Australia.

Overview

  • The object is classified as a long-period transient, a newly identified class of sources with only ten documented examples since 2022.
  • It emits simultaneous two-minute pulses of radio waves and X-rays every 44 minutes, making it the first LPT observed in X-ray wavelengths.
  • ASKAP J1832−0911 lies about 15,000 light-years away in the Milky Way, detected by CSIRO’s ASKAP telescope on Wajarri Country and NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory.
  • Its month-long hyperactive phase began last November and has since subsided, with emissions tapering off over six months and no X-rays detected outside that window.
  • Proposed explanations—a magnetar or a magnetized white dwarf binary—do not fully explain the correlated emissions, suggesting the need for new astrophysical models.