Radio Pulse from the Milky Way – A Fascinating Mystery Solved

An artist’s illustration of two dwarf planets, one red and one white, closely orbiting each other and releasing radio pulses as their magnetic fields interact. (Credits: Firefly Aerospace)

Throughout the last decade, scientists have been puzzled by a phenomenon from space. This mystery involved radio pulses coming from the Milky Way, which would create pulses every 2 hours, each lasting between 0 to 90 seconds. These mysterious pulses seemed to originate from the Ursa Major constellation. However, despite knowing the origins, scientists didn’t understand what caused these pulses until now.

Researchers have agreed on two possible causes of these pulses. One theory states that the white dwarf has a strong magnetic field that releases pulses at 2-hour intervals. The other states that the magnetic fields of both dwarfs interact as they orbit.

In the resolving of this mystery, researcher de Ruiter and her team formed a method to identify radio pulses lasting seconds to minutes using a Low-frequency Array Telescope, a network of telescopes around Europe.

Observations from this experiment showed the red dwarf moved back and forth at rapid speeds, which matched the two hours separating pulses. This led to a hypothesis amongst the researchers, which attributed the motions to the gravity of another star tugging on the red dwarf, leading to the discovery of the white dwarf. The team found that the two dwarfs orbited a common center of gravity, completing a single orbit every 125.5 minutes– a piece of evidence that shows undeniable similarity to the 2-hour pulses.

Astronomers now believe that the cause of these pulses is a result of the interactions between a dead star, called a white dwarf, and a closely orbiting red dwarf star. Both of these stars are known together as ILTJ1101 and orbit closely around each other, leading to interactions amongst their magnetic fields. This causes an emission known as a long-period radio transient of an LPT.

Scientists say that this novel discovery could lead to a better understanding of what kinds of stars are capable of producing radio waves and sending them throughout space.