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Mysterious radio signals discovered in ‘unprecedented’ part of space
Story by Wiliam Hunter
Over the last 10 years, Earth has been receiving a mysterious radio signal every two hours from a distant region of space.
Although it sounds like the start of a sci-fi novel, scientists have now traced these pulses back to an ‘unprecedented’ source.
The researchers say that the pulses originate from a binary system containing a long-dead star.
In this system, a white dwarf and red dwarf orbit each other so closely that their magnetic fields ‘bump together’ to create a long radio pulse.
Since the stars’ orbit is regular, they produce a pulse every 125 minutes like a vast cosmic clock.
Researchers say this system, named ILTJ1101, is located 1,600 light-years from Earth in the direction of the Big Dipper, within the constellation Ursa Major.
This is the first time that a repeating long radio pulse has been observed coming from anything other than a highly magnetised neutron star, known as a magnetar.
In the future, the researchers believe that more mysterious signals from space might turn out to be binary systems like this one.
Researchers have traced the origins of a mysterious radio signal to an ‘unprecedented’ part of space. Their study claims that the burst has been produced by a binary system containing a red dwarf and white dwarf star (illustrated)
Dr Iris de Ruiter, now of the University of Sydney, first discovered the mysterious pulses in 2024 while looking through an archive of data from a radio telescope in the Netherlands.
Within the data of the Low Frequency Array (LOFAR), the largest radio telescope operating at the lowest frequencies that can be observed from Earth, Dr de Ruiter discovered a pulse arriving at Earth in 2015.
Sifting through the archival data for the same area of the sky, she soon found six more pulses.
What was unusual was that each pulse, like a flash of light from a torch but in radio form, lasted between a few seconds to a minute and arrived at regular intervals.
As radio-astronomy techniques have improved, scientists are spotting more and more ‘fast radio bursts’ (FRBs) but this kind of slow, regular pulse remain rare.
Study co-author Dr Charles Kilpatrick, of Northwestern University, says: ‘The radio pulses are very similar to FRBs, but they each have different lengths.
‘The pulses have much lower energies than FRBs and usually last for several seconds, as opposed to FRBs which last milliseconds.‘
To learn more about where these pulses were coming from, the researchers accessed a large optical telescope, which would gather light from that region of space.
While regular radio pulses have been theorised to be signs of intelligent life, the researchers say this pulse is produced by the magnetic fields of the two stars bumping together as they orbit (stock image)
Starting a decade ago, scientists detected a regular radio pulse arriving once every 125 minutes from a distant region of space. Until now, the origin of this pulse has been a mystery. This diagram shows how the orbital period of the binary system (blue) matches the radio pulses
At first, only one star was visible, but the data soon revealed more about this strange system.
By looking at the optical spectra of the star – the different frequencies of light that reach the telescope – the researchers learned that the one visible star was a red dwarf.
Red dwarfs are small, cool stars just a fraction the size of the sun, which can burn for trillions of years without using up all their fuel.
However, this particular red dwarf was doing something unusual: it was wobbling back around a central point on a regular schedule.
Dr Kilpatrick says: ‘The spectroscopic lines in these data allowed us to determine that the red dwarf is moving back and forth very rapidly with exactly the same two-hour period as the radio pulses.’
This back-and-forth movement suggests that the red dwarf was being pulled by the gravity of a second, hidden star.
By observing those movements carefully, Dr Kilpatrick calculated that this second star had the same mass as a typical ‘white dwarf’ star.
White dwarfs are dead stars which have burned through all their nuclear fuel and shed their outer layers, leaving behind nothing but their hot, dense core.
The system includes a white dwarf, a dead star so small and faint that they don’t usually show up on optical telescopes. The researchers were only able to determine the white dwarf existed because of its pull on its partner star. Pictured: Artist’s impression of a white dwarf next to our moon for scale
But, since these stars are so dim, they don’t show up on any but the most powerful telescopes – which explains why the researchers couldn’t directly observe it.
The researchers believe that, as the white and red dwarfs dance around a central point, their magnetic fields come close enough to interact and produce a blast of radio waves.
Around 1,600 years later, those radio waves arrive on Earth as the mysterious radio pulses which showed up in Dr de Ruiter’s database.
Dr Kilpatrick says: ‘In almost every scenario, its mass and the fact that it is too faint to see means it must be a white dwarf.
‘This confirms the leading hypothesis for the white dwarf binary origin and is the first direct evidence we have for the progenitor systems of long-period radio transients.’
Going forward, the researchers hope that their study will inspire other astronomers to consider binary systems as the possible source of unusual radio pulses.
This could help us understand many of the mysterious energy sources which have been found throughout the Milky Way.
Lead author Dr de Ruiter says: ‘With different techniques and observations, we got a little closer to the solution step by step.’
At least eight people have been confirmed dead after a deadly explosion rocked the Maiduguri-Damboa Road on Saturday. The blast, caused by an Improvised Explosive Device (IED), is believed to have been planted by Boko Haram insurgents.
The tragic incident occurred on a section of the highway that was recently reopened after years of closure due to insurgent activity. The route, which cuts through the notorious Sambisa Forest, has long been considered one of the most dangerous in Borno State.
Eyewitnesses and local sources confirmed the attack, including Maiduguri resident Lawan Maigana, who revealed that both civilians and military personnel were among the casualties.
According to reports from Channels TV, the explosion struck a convoy of vehicles under military escort, transporting passengers from Damboa to Maiduguri.
Speaking on the incident, Maigana said:
“The road to my hometown in Damboa has always been perilous. Over the years, we’ve lost brave soldiers and innocent residents to Boko Haram. Today’s attack claimed eight lives and highlights the urgent need to strengthen security measures. May Allah protect us all and grant peace to the souls of the departed.”
The federal and Borno state governments are yet to issue official statements on the attack at the time of filing this report.
Credit: Umar Audu | April 12, 2025
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OPERATION UDO GA CHI – ZERO KIDNAPPING IN ANAMBRA: CP ORUTUGU SETS UP A MONITORING TEAM TO ENSURE OPERATIVES ARE CIVIL AND COMPLIES WITH THE OPERATIONAL ORDER; ALSO THANKS THE STATE GOVERNMENT AND STAKEHOLDERS FOR THEIR SUPPORT AND APPRECIATES THE SACRIFICES OF POLICE AND OTHER SECURITY AGENCIES
OPERATION UDO GA CHI – ZERO KIDNAPPING IN ANAMBRA: CP ORUTUGU SETS UP A MONITORING TEAM TO ENSURE OPERATIVES ARE CIVIL AND COMPLIES WITH THE OPERATIONAL ORDER; ALSO THANKS THE STATE GOVERNMENT AND STAKEHOLDERS FOR THEIR SUPPORT AND APPRECIATES THE SACRIFICES OF POLICE AND OTHER SECURITY AGENCIES
Following the launch and deployment of the Joint Security Team to enforce Operation Udo Ga Chi – Zero Kidnapping, few days ago, the Commissioner of Police *CP Ikioye Orutugu fwc MNIPS PhD.* today 16th April 2025 set up a monitoring team headed by the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of Criminal Investigations Department Awka *DCP Mantu Chong mni* to ensure that Officers are civil and are complying with the Operational Order. He can be reached on 07030871026.
The *CP* on behalf of other security agencies expresses gratitude to the State Government and some good-spirited Anambraians for their support. He also appreciates the coordinated approach and sacrifices of the Police and other Security Agencies to nip in the bud serious crimes like Armed robbery, kidnapping, and other related situations, especially within this Easter period and beyond.
The *CP* notes that alongside our strong resolve to fight all forms of violent crimes, the Operations have a window of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) and community policing principles where applicable. This will be open for those desirous of taking advantage of such avenues to resolve specific problems and issues.
Anambra Police Command shall continue to review the operations as it progresses and explore strategies to improve safety and security in the State.
In the event of request for any security services, members of the public are encouraged to call the Command Control Room number on 07039194332 or PPRO 08039334002 for a prompt response. The ‘npf rescue me app’ is also available for free download on both Android and Apple IOS, for Android and iPhone users respectively. They can also call the various Area Commanders or DPOs in their various areas of concern as attached, please.
*SP Tochukwu Ikenga*
*Police Public Relations Officer*
Anambra State Police Command, Awka
16th April 2025
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