大象传媒

Australian scientists say they have discovered an unknown spinning object in the Milky Way which they claim is unlike anything seen before. The object has been observed to release a huge burst of radio energy for a full minute every 18 minutes. Objects that pulse energy in the universe are often documented. But researchers say something that releases energy for a minute is highly unusual.

Curtin University Honours student Tyrone O'Doherty was the first to discover the object in a project based in the Western Australian outback known as the Murchison Widefield Array, using a telescope and a new technique he had developed. Tyrone is still studying, and says, "the magnitude of what I've discovered hasn't sunk in until today".

Photo: The Milky Way as viewed from Earth. The star icon shows the position of the mysterious repeating transient. Credit: ICRAR/Curtin