So far, there are three possible theories explaining the origin of the mysterious circles detected in outer space.

The universe never ceases to amaze the experts who study every corner of the Cosmos. This time it was a mysterious object classified as odd radius circle or ORCwhich has been in sharp focus by a team of astronomers using the world’s most capable radio telescope.

When first revealed in 2020 by the ASKAP radio telescope – belonging to the Australian National Science Agency (CSIRO), the strange radio circle quickly became an object of fascination. Theories about what causes it range from galactic shockwaves to wormhole throats.

This time, the new detailed image, captured by the MeerKAT radio telescope from the South African Radio Observatory and published Monday in the Royal Astronomical Society’s Monthly Notice, gave researchers more information to help rule out some questions.

The theory of its origin

There are three main theories to explain the cause of ORCs: First, they could be remnants of a large explosion at the center of their parent galaxy, such as the merger of two supermassive black holes.

Second, they can be powerful jets of energetic particles that shoot out from the center of the galaxy. And the third possibility is that they might be the result of “disconnection shock” stellar explosion from star production in the galaxy.

To date, ORC has only been detected using radiotelescopieswithout a sign when the researchers searched for it using optical, infrared, or X-ray telescopes.

That Doctor Jordan Collier, from the Inter-University Institute for Data-Intensive Astronomywhich collected the images from the MeerKAT data, said that continuing to observe these strange radio circles would give researchers more clues.

“People often want to explain their observations and show that they are in line with our best knowledge. To me, it’s much more exciting to discover something new, that challenges our current understanding,” Collier said in a statement. release.

Characteristics of circle radius

the ring is so big: about a million light years acrossWhat’s that 16 times bigger than our own galaxy. Even so, the odd radius circle was hard to see.

That Professor Ray Norris of Western Sydney University and CSIROone of the authors of the paper, says that only five circles of odd radii in space have been revealed.

“We know that ORCs are faint radio emission rings surrounding galaxies with a very active black hole at the center, but we don’t yet know what causes them or why they are so rare,” said Professor Norris.

To truly understand the strange radio circles, scientists will need access to more sensitive radio telescopes, such as the one at the SKA Observatory, which is supported by more than a dozen countries, including the UK, Australia, South Africa, France, Canada, China. and India.

“Without a doubt, the SKA telescope, once built, will find many more ORCs and will be able to tell us more about the life cycle of galaxies,” comments Professor Norris.