Astronomers detect distant space-time "dragging" for first time

An international team of astronomers including one of SKAO’s Project Scientists and using SKA pathfinders has for the first time detected the dragging of space-time in a distant binary star system, something previously only measured around Earth with satellite experiments.

According to Einstein’s general relativity, the rotation of a massive object drags the space-time in its vicinity. Using a pulsar orbiting a white dwarf and two SKA pathfinders – CSIRO’s Parkes Telescope and the Molonglo Observatory Synthesis Telescope – the team were able to detect for the first time this swirling of space-time around the fast-rotating object.

New and upcoming radio telescopes such as MeerKAT and the SKA will play a central role in understanding how Einstein’s theory is at play in such natural laboratories. “With the SKA expected to detect more exotic binary systems like this one, we’ll be able to investigate many more effects predicted by general relativity” concluded Dr Evan Keane, co-author and scientist at the SKA Organisation in the UK.

Commenting on Evan’s work, SKAO Science Director Prof. Robert Braun added “The SKA is still some years away, but our team of astronomers at SKAO are continuing their research and contributing to groundbreaking work with international teams.”

The results, published in Science, involved scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Radio-astronomy in Germany, SKA Organisation, Swinburne University in Australia, Auckland University of Technology in New Zealand and University of Aarhus in Denmark.

You can read more on the SKAO website.

The white dwarf pulsar binary system PSR J1141- 6545 discovered by CSIRO’s Parkes radio telescope – an SKA pathfinder – which was used for the study.

Credit: Mark Myers/ARC Centre of Excellence for Gravitational Wave Discovery (OzGrav), Australia

By SKAO / Source: Max Planck Institute for Radioastronomy