GPM J1839−10[1] is a potentially unique[2] ultra-long period magnetar[3][4] located about 15,000 light-years away from Earth in the Scutum constellation, in the Milky Way.
It was discovered by a team of scientists at Curtin University using the Murchison Widefield Array.
[5][6] Its unusual characteristics violate current theory and prompted a search of other radio telescope archives, including the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope and the Very Large Array, which revealed evidence of the object dating back to 1988.
[5] The current understanding of neutron stars is that below a certain rate of rotation, called "the death line", they cease emissions.
Uniquely, not only does GPM J1839−10 have an extremely slow rotation of approximately twenty-two minutes, it emits bursts of radio waves lasting up to five minutes, for which there is currently no generally accepted explanation.