Cosmic Enigma: The Slow-Spinning Star Mystery
Episode description
An enigmatic cosmic entity has been consistently beaming radio waves to Earth every 22 minutes for over three decades, perplexing the scientific community. Identified as GPM J1839−10, this celestial body is believed to be a fading star emitting energy from its poles. Yet, intriguingly, its spin is so leisurely it seems implausible for its existence, marking it both incredibly stable and unusually slow. We’re thrilled to have Natasha Hurley-Walker, the leading radio astronomer from Curtin University in Australia, who spearheaded the research in conversation with the SETI astronomer and Chief Scientific Officer at Unistellar, Franck Marchis. Together, they’ll delve into this baffling find, initially spotted in archival data from 1988 and later confirmed through 2022 observations using the MeerKAT array. Could this star be something new? Maybe it changes what we think we know about other stars. Or could it be a signal from aliens?
Record live 24 August 2023.