Odd Radio Circles(ORCs): Mysterious Circles of Radio Emission Detected in Space May Come From Supernova Explosions or Massive Black Holes

Source: The post is based on the article “Mysterious Circles of Radio Emission Detected in Space May Come From Supernova Explosions or Massive Black Holes” published in PIB on 16th December 2022

What is the News?

A new research offers plausible explanations for the Odd Radio Circles(ORCs) detected recently using some of the most sensitive international radio telescopes.

What is Odd Radio Circle(ORC)?

Odd Radio Circle(ORC) is a very large unexplained astronomical object that at radio wavelengths, is highly circular and brighter along its edges.

Characteristics of ORCs: ORCs can only be seen in radio and not in any other form of radiation. 

– Some of these objects could be 1 million light-years across, about 10 times larger than our Milky Way. 

– They are considered mysterious, as these objects could not be explained with any previously known astrophysical phenomena.

Who identified these ORCs?

Astronomers identified these ORCs using the Square Kilometer Array(SKA) in Australia & South Africa, the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope(GMRT) in India and  Low-Frequency Array (LOFAR) in the Netherlands.

What is the origin of these ORCs?

Indian scientists have found that some of these ORCs could be remnants of thermonuclear supernovas triggered by the explosion of a white dwarf star in a binary system heavier than 1.4 times the mass of the Sun.