An international team of scientists has recorded strange, repetitive radio signals emanating from 15,000 light-years away. They come every 22 minutes and last about 5 minutes. A study on this has been published in the journal Nature.

Moreover, a study of archival data revealed that space telescopes have been recording this slow pulse for 33 years. However, it has managed to escape the attention of scientists until now.

The “signal object” was designated GPM J1839-10. Astronomers believe it is a magnetar, a neutron star with an extremely strong magnetic field. If so, the discovery goes beyond known physics.

“This remarkable object challenges our understanding of neutron stars and magnetars, which are among the most exotic and extreme objects in the universe,” said Natasha Harley-Walker, an astrophysicist at Curtin University’s International Center for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR) in Australia.

There’s a good reason the GPM J1839-10 went unnoticed for so long; The object rotates too slowly to emit radio waves, so no one expected to find anything like it.

“Assuming it’s a magnetar, this object shouldn’t be emitting radio waves. But we see them. And we’re not just talking about a small burst of radio radiation. It emits a five-minute pulse of energy in the radio range every 22 minutes, and has been doing so for at least 33 years. “Whatever the mechanism behind it, it’s phenomenal,” said Natasha Harley-Walker.

Interestingly, astronomers discovered a similar object in the Milky Way three years ago, later named GLEAM-X J162759.5-523504.3. It would emit about one minute of radio waves every 18 minutes. But 2018 was quiet and nothing has been heard about him since.