The discovery of a neutron star emitting unusual radio signals is rewriting our understanding of these unique star systems.
ThunderKAT
The newly discovered object, named PSR J0941-4046, is a peculiar radio-emitting galactic neutron star which rotates extremely slowly compared to other pulsars. Pulsar pulse rates are incredibly consistent, and our follow-up observations allowed us to predict the arrival time of each pulse to a 100-millionth of a second.
It's also fascinating as it appears to produce at least seven distinctly different pulse shapes, whereas most neutron stars don't exhibit such variety. This diversity in pulse shape, and also pulse intensity, is likely related to the unknown physical emission mechanism of the object.One particular type of pulse shows a strongly"quasi-periodic" structure, which suggests some kind of oscillation is driving the radio emission.