We have heard about many NASA findings on space, this time it was: the ‘’cosmic unicorn’’. The official name is CHIME J1634+44, and it is a space object that emits never-seen signs and this breaks the rules we knew. Its behavior is so weird this is the reason why it’s named ‘’cosmic unicorn’’. So, let’s learn more about this mysterious discovery, shall we?
A space object sending weird signs
According to the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO), a group of astronomers detected an object with a pattern that nobody has ever recorded. Therefore, it was classified as a Long-Period Radio Transient (LPT) which is a type of cosmic body that releases bursts of radio waves at regular intervals.
To have a clear picture of this, experts compare it to a lighthouse at the coast: if someone looks at it from a fixed point, that person will see flashes at specific times, but the beam is actually always on. So, the LPT works the same way, with constant emissions that seem to repeat due to its rotation.
In the case of the ‘’cosmic unicorn’’, the signs are particularly weird: they appear every 841 seconds (about 14 minutes), but they also show a second period of 4206 seconds (70 minutes). The curious thing is that this second cycle is exactly 5 times longer than the first one.
Why do they call it ‘’cosmic unicorn’’?
Most of the LPTs discovered until now are neutron stars or white dwarfs. The normal thing of these objects is that they rotate slower as they lose energy with the passage of time. However, the ‘’cosmic unicorn’’ does the opposite: its periods are shorter, which means that it is rotating faster.
This behavior is one of the reasons why scientists call this discovery ‘’cosmic unicorn’’, because it’s not similar to another object known of its type.
What’s more, its bursts have another unique feature: they are 100% circularly polarized, which means they travel in a perfect spiral through space. This precision on the waves has never been seen in other objects of its kind.
Theories of its origin
Astronomers confirm that two bursts come from the same place because they are perfectly synchronized. The problem is that an isolated star can’t generate such complex signs by itself.
That’s why, scientists suspect the ‘’cosmic unicorn’’ is not an isolated object, but a system formed by two bodies. The main theories are:
- A neutron star along with an unknown object in orbit.
- Two stars orbiting very near one from the other, influencing in their signals.
These hypotheses challenge traditional models that describe how neutron stars and white dwarfs should behave.
How this discovery was made
This finding was possible thanks to the collaboration of 4 advanced telescopes in the United States and Canada, most of them linked to NASA. Due to the combination of data from different observatories, astronomers could detect the unusual bursts and check that they followed a repetitive pattern.
The main researcher, Fengqiu Adam Dong, explained that the discovery of the ‘’cosmic unicorn’’ expands the known population of LPTs and shows that there may be many more hidden in the universe, waiting to be detected.
The importance of this discovery
This finding is important because it breaks the established patterns:
- Instead of stopping its rotation, it accelerates it.
- Instead of showing common signals, it produces 2 cycles perfectly synchronized.
- Instead of emitting two normal waves, it releases bursts in perfect spirals.
Each one of the features adds mystery and makes scientists rethink about what they already knew about the cosmos. So, studying this object can help astronomers discover new ways of understanding neutron stars, white dwarfs, and who knows? Maybe even unknown types of cosmic bodies.