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In 2002, astronomers working with the Australian MWA radio telescope recorded an unusual signal from space. Moreover, it repeated every 22 minutes. Astronomers began studying previous recordings and saw that this same signal had been recorded for more than 30 years and had not changed in all this time. According to scientists' calculations, its source must be somewhere in the constellation of the shield. Researchers are putting forward new versions of the origin of this signal, but they can't come to a conclusion because it's too strange.
What is really behind the mysterious signal and why, unlike many others, does it continue to cycle for so long? Why do scientists consider repeating signals from space to be something unusual? The first of them were discovered in 1967 using the super-powerful radio telescope Interplanetary Scintillation Array. He recorded a signal at a frequency of approximately 110 MHz, which repeated every one and a half seconds. At first, scientists even thought it was a signal sent by extraterrestrial civilizations and called it LGM1. or little green men alone. After all, everyone knows that natural events with radiation of various wavelengths, such as the death of stars, are one-time events by default.
Later, astronomers discovered several more very similar repeating signals that reached Earth from different distances. Scientists realized that these were not signals from aliens, but a completely natural phenomenon. simply abnormal. Today we know that those signals are produced by pulsars, small neutron stars that most often remain invisible to us. 99% of discovered pulsars are located in our galaxy. And in general, according to the University of Cambridge, about 3,000 of them are known. This is 100 million times fewer than the stars in the Milky Way. Pulsars have very strong magnetic fields, billions of times stronger than Earth's magnetic field It causes exotic celestial bodies to emit electromagnetic waves near the poles.
Pulsars rotate very quickly around their axis, scattering streams of low-frequency radio waves in our direction, like a lawn sprinkler. But the signal recorded in 2002 is repeated much less frequently, as many as thousands of times. But couldn't there just be a very slow pulsar with such a cycle? In fact, it is a very compressed dead star that is spinning so fast that it cannot easily slow down. Pulsars do indeed slow down at the end of their life cycle, but at the same time their radio streams turn off. But the GPM J1 83910 object, which emits a signal that is 22 minutes long, is even stranger. When scientists delved into archives with
stores of mysterious signals, they saw a completely unlike anything else The intervals between signals are always 22 minutes. The time window in which the next signal appears is always 600 minutes. However, within its limits, the signal can last for any time from 30 seconds to 5 minutes. When scientists observe a pulsar, they expect to see bursts of similar intensity over a period of less than a minute or a little more than a minute. The mysterious signal is not only too long for a pulsar, but also uneven. This is all nonsense. However, in other characteristics, it is more like an FRB, a short radio burst lasting a few milliseconds.
The very first of these was recorded in 2007 at West Virginia University. While studying archives of pulsar observations using the Parkes radio telescope, researchers noticed a single, but incredibly powerful signal that lasted less than 5 milliseconds. It came from the region of the Small Magellanic Cloud, 200,000 light-years away An impulse of such strength could only be generated by the explosion of a supernova star. Perhaps this was actually the case, because this FRB was a single one. But in 2018, Canadian researchers recorded the first repeating FRB, the intensity of which can be compared to years of solar activity.
This super-powerful burst of energy traveled 457 light years to us. It recurred every 16 days, appearing for four days, releasing one or two bursts per hour, and then disappearing over 12 days. This is very similar to our mysterious 22-minute signal. However, only about three FRBI signals are repeated, so no one knows what exactly produces them. There are theories that ordinary single FRBIs are formed as a result of the death of stars or the collision of two neutron stars. But such grandiose cosmic events certainly cannot regularly repeat at the same coordinates. There may be other theories that explain the origin of these extremely anomalous radio transmissions. The repetitive signals we receive from
space may be echoes of the processes of Ukrainoma neutron stars. Their magnetic field is tens of thousands of times more powerful than that of pulsars. The model of this exotic object was proposed by Robert Duncan and Christopher Thompson in 1992 to explain recurring gamma-ray bursts, which are considered the brightest electromagnetic events in the universe. Their super-strong magnetic field was called magnetar. The intervals between their flares are irregular, but in a few tenths of a second, magnetars emit as much energy as our sun does in an entire year. But magnetars are still more of a
theoretical model, the sole purpose of which is to explain recurring, ultra-powerful gamma-ray bursts. But how exactly does one of these anomalous stars produce the mysterious 22-minute signal? In 2020, astronomers were able to trace an FRB signal back to its source for the first time and discovered a magnetar near the center of our galaxy, 30,000 light- years away. The radio telescope at the Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory in British Columbia recorded two flares 28.9 ms apart, but they did not recur. However, when astronomers aimed their equipment at the area where the mysterious 22-minute signal was coming from, they did indeed see a compact object that looked like a neutron star.
According to scientists' calculations, it should be located at a distance of 15,000 light years. If this is indeed a magnetar, its colossal magnetic field explains why the mysterious 22-minute signal is so powerful. However, with the repetition cycle, the problem arises again. Over the course of 30 years of observations, scientists should have noticed at least some slowing down of the already very slow magnetar, but nothing of the sort happened. In addition, the individual long bursts look too strange, even for such an exotic object. However, scientists jumped on this idea because they had already seen a somewhat similar magnetar beacon.
The longest FRB signal was recorded by astronomers in 2019 using the same Chime observatory. Compared to similar signals that last a few milliseconds, this one was very long, a full 3 seconds. This is almost a thousand times longer than other FRBs. But that was not his only feature. This Furby created periodic spikes that were remarkably similar to the rhythm of a heartbeat. Its source was found in a nebula within the Chuvash Path, 9,000 light-years away. Astronomers believe that this neutron star is extremely dense and has a super-strong magnetic field. However, again, none of the theories explain why it rotates so slowly.
Scientists believe the most likely version is that after the explosion above the nova that formed this magnetar, the remnants of gas and dust caught on the force lines of its magnetic field and thus greatly slowed down its rotation. But what is a simpler and yet more exotic explanation? Professor Tomonori Tatani, together with graduate student Yuya Suzuki of the University of Tokyo, were trying to unravel the nature of the origin of FRB signals and made an unusual discovery. Previous studies have shown that neutron star radiation resembles solar flares, but new data has shown that this is not the case at all. In fact, repeating FRBs and signals may have much more in common with a completely different kind of cataclysm.
Scientists conducted a statistical analysis of thousands of recently discovered FRBs. They compared the energy of 7,000 bursts of radiation from three different FRB sources. And then, using the same method, they often compared the energy of radiation for solar flares and earthquakes in the Kanto region of Japan. After that, the scientists compared the results of all three phenomena and saw that FRBIs were statistically different from solar flares. However, they were incredibly similar to earthquakes. Apparently, neutron stars and, in particular, magnetars, due to their intense gravity, have a hard, crust-like surface. And because they rotate at breakneck speed, the smallest owl leads to large-scale starquakes.
Therefore, Professor Totaniv is confident that our radio telescopes are intercepting signals caused by these exotic cataclysms. In other words, the huge amount of energy released during starquakes reaches us in the form of FRB signals. But these discoveries still do not explain why signals from space repeat regularly, because retrograde tremors cannot occur with such a stable periodicity, just like earthquakes on our planet. Moreover, during the starquake, radiation appears in the X-ray part of the spectrum, which could not be recorded in the mysterious 22-minute signal. Perhaps, despite all modern discoveries, we still don't see the full picture, that in
reality, we are hearing echoes of the most exotic events in the universe. In 2021, astrophysicists Gustavo Magallanes Guion and Archéoma Mandoz from the National Autonomous University of Mexico recorded a burst of X-ray and gamma-ray radiation from the center of our galaxy. Using data from the Fermi Space Telescope collected between June and December 2022, scientists decided to find out what could be the source of these signals. They found that X- rays appear about once every 76 minutes, and the gamma rays that accompany them last twice as long. This coincidence, according to scientists, indicates that the signals are created by a single physical
mechanism, and they are definitely connected The source of the signal, according to the telescope, is located in the vicinity of the supermassive black hole Sagittarius Ax, located almost 27,000 light-years from Earth. But black holes themselves cannot emit anything, because they are limited by a region called the event horizon, from which not even light can escape due to their enormous gravity. But supermassive black holes are able to produce radiation due to turbulence in the gas and dust surrounding them But around the arrow A star, there is
not enough such matter for radiation, especially periodic radiation. But something is still creating radiation near the black hole, and scientists believe it is a unique hot magnetized clump of gas rotating around it at a speed of approximately 320 million km/h, which is 30% of the speed of light. According to scientists, the gas clump is associated with a strong magnetic field, which synchronously accelerates the particles, causing them to be released. And we register this as radiation. Typically, black holes absorb objects that approach them, and thus feed themselves.
Most likely, this is what a gas clot is waiting for. But until that happens, scientists continue to observe these repeating FRBs from the center of the galaxy to find an explanation for them. According to one version, these signals in the centers of galaxies may appear as a result of the generation of coherent radiation. It is based on the process of interaction of electromagnetic radiation with a simple quantum system, which has only two energy levels: ground and excited. At the basic level, the system is in equilibrium, that is, it does not exchange energy with the external environment.
However, when an external force begins to act on such a system, it provokes changes in the state of the particles, like a conductor forcing an orchestra to play. Only in our case, it's not sound that occurs, but radiation. This transition between states has a property called coherence, that is, the consistency of the oscillation phases. Simply put, if a system is constantly exposed to forces of the desired frequency and intensity, it can spontaneously produce powerful signals with a certain periodicity.
However, scientists are confident that such an orchestra of particles cannot exist near such an active object as a magnetar. Everything will just fall apart there. Instead, astronomers imagined an asteroid flying around Magnetar, provoking energy bursts every 22 minutes. The only problem. An asteroid with that rotation period would be too close to Magnetar and it would simply be torn apart. It seems that without solving the mystery of FB, we will not move. And a large team of American
astronomers and physicists recently decided to do just that. Scientists have already managed to discover several dozen new signals using the latest statistical tools. However, their biggest shocking discovery was that all FBs can actually be duplicated. It's just that we only record them once. That is, the mystery deepened even further. Do we really have to consider the most fantastic theory? Since that 22-minute signal, like many others, still has no explanation, some scientists are inclined to believe that it is of artificial origin.
Aviloep and Manas Willingham of the Harvard Smithsonian Center believe that we are actually detecting signals from alien radio transmitters that run on the energy of stars. According to Oleeb and Lingam, it could be used to power photonic engines for spacecraft or probes that travel through interstellar space at speeds close to the speed of light. If we are indeed picking up signals from a huge alien emitter, it must be at least twice the diameter of the Earth. Or it could be an artificial structure on a stellar scale.
It is believed that any technological civilization reaches a point where the planet's resources are no longer sufficient. One solution is to make the most of the resources of the nearest star by enlivening it with a Dyson sphere that holds energy inside. To us, it would look like an exotic star emitting infrared waves. that more advanced civilizations have already built a whole network of such emitters and use them not only as batteries, but also for communication over long distances.
Such a huge transmitter could well produce the signals we receive every 22 minutes, and a battery from a star would definitely last for many decades. However, near the magnetar, they are believed to be the source of a mysterious signal. No Dyson spheres were found. Moreover, its magnetic field would instantly crush her. But this won't happen with a compact repeater. So maybe it's rotating around the magnetar and sending us a signal that it's 22 minutes. We simply cannot see the device at such a distance and believe that the signal is being sent by an anomalous magnetar. And this is not the first signal from space that may actually be artificial.
In August 1977, Dr. Jerry Amon was looking through printouts from the Big Ear radio telescope and unexpectedly saw signals with characteristics that scientists expected from interstellar radio. Various methods have been used to determine its frequency, and all of them have given values within the range of the 1420 MHz emission of neutral hydrogen atoms Hydrogen radio emission is considered ideal for communication in space, because this element literally penetrates interstellar matter. Eamon was so impressed by the find that he circled the symbols on the printout and wrote wow next to them. To find out the exact coordinates of the signal source, it was necessary
to catch it again. Scientists continued to search, but the wow signal was never repeated. In the end, everything was blamed on radiation from the Earth's surface, which came from space debris. However, no terrestrial transmitter produces a signal of this strength. In addition, transmissions on the hydrogen frequency are prohibited, precisely so as not to miss a signal from extraterrestrial civilizations. But in 2003, scientists had to remember the wow signal when Project Sam recorded a new candidate for an attempt by extraterrestrial civilizations to make contact with us This is the second radio signal observed at a frequency of 1420 MHz. Therefore, scientists believe that extraterrestrial
civilizations would send us a signal at this frequency. if contact were initiated. But this new wow signal was repeated three times. But when scientists tried to determine where it was coming from, it turned out that its source was somewhere between the constellations of Pisces and Aries, where there are no stars or planetary systems. Due to the enormous distance, the signal is very weak, and the radio telescope at the Recibo Observatory only held it for a minute, making it impossible to do a detailed analysis. Unless this signal would be repeated again. Therefore, astronomers believe that this signal could be anything but a message from an extraterrestrial civilization.
However, no other explanations have been proposed yet. The Varisiba radio telescope recorded another signal, which repeated as many as nine times over six months. It came from a dwarf galaxy 3 billion light-years away. Zigaodai from Nanjing University in China and colleagues studied this signal and concluded that the now-dead pulsar, passing through the asteroid belt, captured electrons from their surface. And thus the signals that our radio telescopes detect were formed. This is such a unique coincidence that it is simply impossible to confirm. Maybe we have caught a message after all, which we are not yet able to decipher.
Meanwhile, for at least 30 years, an unknown source has been trying to reach us from a distance of 15,000 light years, as if demanding attention every 22 minutes. However, we pretend that nothing unusual is happening. So how anomalous a signal do we have to get to really get interested in it? Some believe that aliens are already much closer than thousands of light years. In 1998, during a flight to the ISS from the shuttle, an incomprehensible black object was noticed.
It was given NASA catalog number 025570. In March 2017, the Mail Online reported shocking news that it was actually an alien spy satellite that the military had secretly destroyed. Did the mysterious 22-minute signal actually control a spy satellite? Astronaut Jerry Ross shed light on this mystery. He was part of the American team. In fact, it's not a spy satellite at all, but just a thermal docking case that broke away from its mounts and flew away. However, photographs of the mysterious black object have given rise to a number of conspiracy theories. And, unfortunately, it's quite natural when we don't know something. As soon as we find out what's actually
producing the mysterious signals from space. This will definitely change our understanding of the universe. What version do you have? Closer. An extremely exotic natural object. or still arriving.
