Scientists baffled by mysterious 53‑minute signal from space

Scientists regularly receive various types of signals from space. Continuous research is primarily aimed at enhancing communication between Earth and space. One of the latest projects shared by NASA reported positive tests of a new laser communication system, which created a laser beam capable of travelling several million miles.

This example, however, is fully understood and controlled by scientists. The same cannot be said about the ASKAP J1935+2148 signal, as reported by the Astronomy portal. The ASKAP radio telescope in Australia detected this signal, and scientists cannot explain its origin.

So far, scientists have observed that the ASKAP J1935+2148 signal has a pulsation period of 53.8 minutes, the only consistent aspect of its pulsations. The signal appears to go through three phases, classifying it as an irregular and long-lasting signal source.

Sometimes, this signal manifests as flashes lasting 10 to 50 seconds, while at other times, the pulsations are weaker and last only about 370 milliseconds. Additionally, the ASKAP J1935+2148 flashes sometimes do not arrive as expected, making it difficult to determine the cause of such strange and irregular behavior.

Current suspicions about the signal's source point towards two objects: a white dwarf and a neutron star. Although neither perfectly matches the characteristics of ASKAP J1935+2148, experts lean towards a neutron star as a better explanation for the mysterious signal's source.

Scientists note that these objects are known to emit radio waves, and the observed irregularities in the signals may be due to the presence of strong magnetic fields and plasma flows associated with the star in question.

While some properties of neutron stars align with the observed signal behavior, a significant challenge remains: no known neutron star rotates at a speed that would allow for signal emission every 50 minutes. Current understanding indicates that neutron stars typically rotate around their axis within seconds or even fractions of a second.

At such rapid rotation speeds, emitting pulses every 53 minutes is impossible. Therefore, another potential source could be a white dwarf. These objects rotate more slowly, but no known white dwarf has been identified that could emit such strong signals.

Scientists cannot precisely explain what ASKAP J1935+2148 is or where it originates. Future research will focus on analyzing the behavior of this mysterious signal to uncover more information.