In 2020, something near the centre of the Milky Way switched on and off six times in radio waves, then disappeared from every follow-up search in X-rays and infrared — leaving astronomers with only the name ASKAP J173608.2−321635 and the possibility of an entirely new kind of object.

ASKAP J173608.2-321635 is not a name built for memory. It is a coordinate label, the kind astronomers use when an object has not yet earned a more familiar identity. That is part of the point. The source appeared six times in 2020 in radio observations near the centre of the Milky Way, then refused to [...] The post In 2020, something near the centre of the Milky Way switched on and off six times in radio waves, then disappeared from every follow-up search in X-rays and infrared — leaving astron