Space is full of mysteries as it forces scientists to dig deep, keep learning and find answers. In a stunning breakthrough, astronomers finally found the source of a mysterious radio signal which was coming from deep and dark space, repeating every two hours. 

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In the research published in Nature Astronomy, scientists said they have tracked the signal back to a strange binary system containing a dead star or "white dwarf" and a red dwarf stellar companion. 

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This discovery has shed new light on the origins of these mysterious signals. Previously, they were thought to originate from neutron stars, but this new research suggests that white dwarf binaries can also produce these signals. 

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The signal, designated ILTJ1101, was detected using the LOFAR radio telescope and was found to repeat every two hours. Further observations revealed that the signal was coming from a binary system containing a white dwarf and a red dwarf companion. 

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The mechanism behind the signal is thought to be the interaction between the strong magnetic field of the white dwarf and the stellar wind emitted by the red dwarf companion. This interaction accelerates charged particles, which in turn produce radio waves. 

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'Radio pulses with a period of a few seconds' 

"There are several highly magnetized neutron stars, or magnetars, that are known to exhibit radio pulses with a period of a few seconds," team member and Northwestern astrophysicist Charles Kilpatrick said in a statement. 

"Some astrophysicists also have argued that sources might emit pulses at regular time intervals because they are spinning, so we only see the radio emission when the source is rotated toward us," it added. 

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"Now, we know at least some long-period radio transients come from binaries. We hope this motivates radio astronomers to localize new classes of sources that might arise from neutron star or magnetar binaries," Kilpatrick said. 

(With inputs from agencies)