Mysterious "Dead" satellite emits powerful signal
After 55 years of silence, NASA's old Relay 2 satellite suddenly sent out a super short but intense radio signal.
Detected by Australia's ASKAP telescope on June 13, the burst lasted less than 30 nanoseconds—just a blink—but was brighter than anything else in the sky at that moment.
Relay 2 was launched in the '60s
Relay 2 was launched in the '60s to test space communications and has been inactive since 1967.
Scientists say this unexpected signal probably wasn't on purpose—it could have come from static electricity building up or maybe a tiny meteoroid hitting the satellite.
Findings will be published in the Astrophysical Journal
This rare event shows that even "dead" satellites can still surprise us.
Catching signals like this could help scientists monitor old satellites and space junk, which is becoming more important as Earth's orbit gets busier.
The findings will be published soon in The Astrophysical Journal.