Researchers have discovered that since at least 1988, a mysterious outer space source has been constantly transmitting radio waves to Earth at a frequency of 22 minutes.

Scientists from multiple countries have begun observing this mysterious source to try and solve the mystery surrounding this celestial body; is it a pulsar, a magnetar, or is it alien life trying to contact humans on Earth?

For months, scientists at the International Center for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR) scanned the Milky Way every three nights using Australia's Murchison Wide Field Array radio telescope.

Soon, they made an exciting discovery: "Almost as soon as we started observing, we found a new light source in the sky, repeating every 22 minutes."

They then observed the outer space object through every piece of radio, X-ray, and optical telescope equipment they could find.

It turned out that the unknown object was constantly sending out radio signals at a cycle of five minutes per pulse duration and 17 minutes apart.

The real surprise came when the researchers searched the archives of past radio observations.

The scientists found that these signal waves had been detected on Earth yearly since at least 1988 but had gone unnoticed. It wasn't until this search through the archives that it was discovered that the source of the signals had been appearing consistently for at least 35 years.

One of the first possibilities the researchers considered was pulsars, a spinning neutron star and the most common source of repeating signals from outer space.

Pulsars emit radio blasts as they rotate, flickering on and off like a lighthouse beam.

Scientists believe these signals can only be captured as they pass over the Earth's surface if the pulsar's magnetic field is strong enough and spinning fast enough.

In their research article, the scientists noted that the object, GPMJ1839-10, does not appear to be orbiting in a way that would fit the definition of existing scientific theories if it were a pulsar.

Since GPMJ1839-10's gravitational waves are strong enough to be detected on Earth, they must be spinning quickly. However, it is turning 1,000 times slower, contrary to expectations.

Victoria Caspi, a physics professor at McGill University in Montreal, Canada, also said people are working hard to continue searching for these strange signals. It may be many years before we know what is hidden in these data.

"Only time will tell what else is hidden in these data and what observations across astronomical time scales will reveal."