A newly discovered neutron star behaves so strangely that it could change our understanding of these super-dense objects that remain after massive stars die. Astronomers have used the ASKAP radio telescope to discover a neutron star 13,000 light years away that is so strange they say it shouldn’t exist. The star is likely a type of pulsar that has never been seen before. The study is published in the journal Nature Astronomy, New Scientist reports. When very massive stars reach the end of their lives and explode as a supernova, a super-dense object called a neutron star is formed. Pulsars are neutron stars that spin very quickly on their axis and emit radio waves from their magnetic poles as they spin. Most pulsars spin at more than one revolution per second, and astronomers receive a radio pulse at the same frequency. Over the past few years, astronomers have discovered compact objects that emit radio waves at a much slower rate. This has puzzled scientists, because the radio emission is expected to stop when the rotation slows to more than one rotation per minute. Such slowly rotating objects are known as long-period radio transients. Last year, astronomers discovered one with a rotation period of 54 minutes. Now, astronomers have discovered a new object, called ASKAP J1839-0756, that rotates at a record-breaking rate of one rotation every 6.45 hours. Scientists initially thought the object was a white dwarf star, the remnant of a dead Sun-like star. But astronomers had never seen a lone white dwarf emitting radio waves before. Calculations also showed that the new object was too big to be a white dwarf. After that, scientists decided that this object is a magnetar, that is, a neutron star with the strongest magnetic field in the Universe. It is also a type of pulsar. Astronomers have previously discovered a magnetar with a rotation period of 6.67 hours. But this magnetar emits only X-rays, not radio waves. If it is indeed a lone magnetar, it would be the first star of its type to be discovered that emits radio waves and rotates so slowly around its axis, scientists say. The study’s authors say the object completely changes the known ideas about neutron stars. It is one of the strangest objects in space and scientists thought they should not exist. Astronomers also say the theory that pulsars stop emitting radio waves when they spin too slowly needs to be revised. The post Astronomers have discovered a strange star that should not exist appeared first on Anomalien.com.