Over the past decade, scientists have detected a puzzling phenomenon: radio pulses coming from within ourΒ Milky Way galaxyΒ that would pulse every two hours, like a cosmic heartbeat.
The long radio blasts, which lasted between 30 and 90 seconds, appeared to come from the direction of the Ursa Major constellation, where the Big Dipper is located.
Now, astronomers have zeroed in on the surprising origin of the unusual radio pulses: a dead star, called a white dwarf, that is closely orbiting a small, cool red dwarf star. Red dwarfs are the most common type of star in the cosmos.
The two stars, known collectively as ILTJ1101, are orbiting each other so closely that their magnetic fields interact, emitting whatβs known as a long period radio transient, or an LPT. Previously, long radio bursts were only traced to neutron stars, the dense remnants left after a colossal stellar explosion.
Mysterious radio pulses from the Milky Way βare unlike anything we knew beforeβhttps://t.co/rr65A6g49e
— 7News Boston WHDH (@7News) March 14, 2025
