Scientists Capture , Radio Signals , From Long-Dormant Star.<br />'The Independent' reports that scientists have <br />been puzzled after receiving unprecedented <br />radio signals from a previously dormant star.<br />The star, named XTE J1810-197, is a magnetar. .<br />Magnetars are a type of neutron star and are <br />the most powerful magnets in the universe.<br />XTE J1810-197 is the nearest known magnetar <br />to Earth, about 8,000 light years away.<br />Now, scientists have received radio <br />pulses from the dormant star that <br />do not fit previous expectations.<br />Unlike the radio signals we’ve <br />seen from other magnetars, <br />this one is emitting enormous <br />amounts of rapidly changing <br />circular polarisation. We had never <br />seen anything like this before, Marcus Lower, Postdoctoral fellow <br />at Australia’s national science agency, <br />CSIRO, via 'The Independent'.<br />Scientists discovered that the new pulses are emitting <br />a type of spiraling light that is different from the<br />polarized light emitted by most other magnetars.<br />In 2003, XTE J1810-197 became <br />the first known magnetar to <br />produce a radio signal.<br />After being discovered, the magnetar <br />then went silent for over a decade. .<br />The team that discovered it said that <br />the findings could change our <br />understanding of intense magnetic fields.<br />The signals emitted from <br />this magnetar imply that <br />interactions at the surface <br />of the star are more complex than <br />previous theoretical explanations, Manisha Caleb, University of Sydney, <br />a co-author on the study, via 'The Independent'.<br />The team's findings were published <br />in the journal 'Nature Astronomy.'
