♪ INTRO Astronomers have occasionally discovered unidentified objects in the depths of space, such as Odd Radio Circles (ORCs). ORCs are visible in the radio band of the electromagnetic spectrum and were first spotted in 2019. As of early 2023, six potential ORC candidates have been identified, four of which are loners and two of which are connected by a tail.
What makes ORCs odd is that they are only visible at radio wavelengths, while other space objects usually emit electromagnetic radiation (light) across the spectrum. Furthermore, all six ORC candidates have a galaxy in the middle, which could be the point of origin.
There are two hypotheses to explain what ORCs actually are. One suggests they were born of two galaxies merging, while the other suggests they are shockwaves created after a galaxy goes through a phase of making new stars.
The radio waves emitted by ORCs come from the collision of magnetic fields with the intergalactic medium. This collision accelerates electrons, which then interact with the magnetic fields and emit synchrotron radiation. This radiation is strongest at radio wavelengths, while its signal at other wavelengths is so weak that it cannot be detected from Earth. Researchers are currently analyzing data from an all-sky survey to see if they can find ORCs emitting x-rays. In which case, that would make them ORX-C…? OXARC…? Which isn’t as good as ORC, but, you know, either of those. Take them astronomers. I give those to you. But synchrotron radiation isn’t the only potential explanation for our mysterious friends. Some researchers claim that ORCs are radio jets shooting out from black holes. Big cones of stuff emitting radio waves as they’re flung away from the center of the galaxy. We see these sticking out of plenty of galaxies throughout the universe, but they usually point out to the sides. ORCs may be the very special, very rare case where they’re pointed exactly, directly at us. But other astronomers dismiss this hypothesis on the basis of “They’re just too darn round.” Sure, we’ve only discovered a handful of these things, but not one is an ellipse. If ORCs are actually these super long radio jets poking out of the galaxies, the chances are way more likely that our vantage point would be just a little off-center. We’d be discovering not O-R-Cs, but O-R-Es. So these mystery objects are probably a new perspective on some familiar astronomical phenomenon. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t some more…novel ideas out there. One duo sitting over in SciFi Hypothesis Corner has suggested that ORCs are the throats of wormholes. That one doesn’t seem to be taken very seriously by the broader community, but hey, just wanted to let you know about it, because that’s cool. The key to solving any of these mysteries is going to be more data. Looking closely at other wavelengths, looking with even more sophisticated radio telescopes, and looking at the data we’ve already got using new models. In time, these astronomical UFOs may finally be identified. And when that happens, maybe they’ll be a little less odd than astronomers first thought. But maybe they’ll be something entirely new. I personally, though, would keep the name either way. At least until we find some actual space orcs. We don’t want things to get too confusing. Real-life ORCs might be a little too different from your typical fantasy creature to make for good merch. But you know what does? Real-life unicorns! Over at DFTBA.com/SciShow, you can get this adorable sticker set celebrating the one-horned animals of our actual world. We’ve even made those horns into rainbows, because who wouldn’t want one of those? [♪ OUTRO]