Scientists Finally Solve the Mystery of Strange Signals Coming From Space

For years, astronomers have been trying to explain a strange class of repeating radio signals that behave unlike ordinary cosmic flashes. They last too long, repeat too slowly, and do not fit neatly into the usual models built around pulsars or magnetars.

Now, a new study has traced one of these signals to a “cannibal” star system called ASKAP J174508.9−505149. The source is not one lonely object, but a white dwarf pulling material from a companion star, producing repeated radio bursts and X-ray emission as the two stars orbit each other.