Odd Radio Circles: Giant Rings of Radio Waves Found in Space

These are probably the rarest space objects spotted by humans. 

Odd radio circles (ORCs) are huge rings composed of radio waves. What’s interesting about them is that aside from not knowing their origin, only five ORCs have ever been sighted!

The first three were captured by the high-resolution MeerKAT radio telescope in South Africa in 2019. The fourth was actually in the data of a radio telescope in 2013, but was not identified until years later. The last in the ORC roster was discovered in 2021. 

Researchers have different theories to explain the origin of these odd and mysterious space objects. One example is that they are created from a shock wave from the center of their galaxy, similar to what happens when two supermassive black holes merge.

Other explanations have risen with the rise in the number of discovered ORCs. Hopefully, experts will uncover more of these objects to get more data from them. Maybe the mystery behind them will be solved in the years to come!

Image credit: J. English (U. Manitoba)/EMU/MeerKAT/DES(CTIO)

#space #ORCs #OddRadioCircles

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