University of Sydney finds ASKAP J1745-5051 that could explain LPTs
Researchers at the University of Sydney have discovered a rare star duo (called ASKAP J1745-5051) that could finally help explain mysterious, long-period radio transients (LPTs) from space.
This system, made up of a white dwarf and a red dwarf orbiting each other in just over an hour, sends out repeating radio bursts that we can pick up here on Earth.
Opens study of extreme magnetic environments
With only about a dozen LPTs found so far, ASKAP J1745-5051 gives scientists their best clue yet to where these strange signals come from, maybe other binary stars or even pulsars.
Lead researcher Kovi Rose said this system gives us a way to decode these signals and could help us determine whether other long-period transients are more like pulsars or white dwarf systems, acting as a stellar Rosetta Stone.
The discovery also opens up new ways to study extreme magnetic environments in our galaxy.