Astronomers found a new mysterious object in the neighboring Galaxy NGC 4945, called “PUNCTUM” – from the Latin “Point”.
He was opened by the team of Elena Shablovinskaya from Chilean University of Diego Portales using the ALMA radio telescope.
Punctum is unique in that it is visible only in the millimeter range and has brightness, which is 10-100 times higher than all the well -known supernova and magnetars, yielding only to crab -shaped nebula.
At the same time, the object is compact and demonstrates a strong polarization of radiation, which indicates an ordered magnetic field and a synchrotron radiation mechanism.
At the same time, his nature remains a mystery: the magnetars are too dull in this range, and the remains of supernova are too large to explain the observed. It is possible that Punctum is an extreme representative of famous objects or a completely new type.
Alma’s further observations and future research using the James Webb telescope should help find out the true nature of this “point”, which has already become one of the most intriguing finds of recent years.
