Produced by: Mohsin Shaikh
Astronomers found a new type of radio source, pulsing every few hours — too slow to be pulsars and unlike anything seen before, leaving scientists puzzled.
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Known as long-period transients, these strange objects emit blazing radio flashes that defy explanation — until now, thanks to an unexpected stellar pairing.
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Unlike neutron star pulsars that flash every second, these radio pulses repeat every hours, something neutron stars theoretically shouldn’t do — raising big questions.
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Using LOFAR radio telescope, astronomers tracked ILTJ1101+5521, pinpointing its source: a faint red star—paired with a hidden cosmic companion.
Spectral analysis revealed the red star wobbles, a telltale sign it's locked in a tight orbit with another star — hinting at a binary dance behind the radio flashes.
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Unexpectedly, the radio bursts aren’t from a pulsar but from a white dwarf, a dead star paired with a red dwarf, pulsing together in a stunning cosmic duet.
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Their orbital period — two hours — matches the two-hour rhythm of the mysterious radio pulses, confirming a direct link between binary orbit and radio emission.
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Yet, not all long-period transients can be white dwarfs. Some flash too fast, suggesting a variety of strange, unknown stellar systems may be out there.
This breakthrough opens a new chapter in astrophysics, showing white dwarfs can outshine neutron stars in radio waves — but many questions remain.