The detection of a new and strange fast radio burst originating from a galaxy located 3 billion light-years away has left astronomers puzzled. Fast Radio Burst or FRB are bursts of radio waves in space that are milliseconds long. Usually, these radio bursts occur and don’t repeat. However, in the latest observation, the radio burst was found to be repetitive. An object named FRB 190520 was detected by astronomers when it released a burst of radio waves on May 20, 2019.

It was located using the Five-hundred-metre Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST) in China. Subsequently, the radio burst appeared in the telescope data in November that year. [1]

Figure 1. Strange Repeating Fast Radio Burst (FRB) Originating from Distant Galaxy Detected

Figure 1 shows Upon further observing the FRB 190520 using FAST, astronomers found that it emitted frequent repeating radio bursts of radio waves, unlike other FRBs. The findings were part of a new report published in the journal Nature.

In 2020, the team of scientists used the National Science Foundation's Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) and other telescopes to zero in on its origin. Once the VLA located the object, the Subaru Telescope in Hawaii helped get a clearer picture. Subaru's visible-light observations revealed that the burst originated from the outskirts of a dwarf galaxy located 3 billion light-years away. In addition, it was noted that the object emitted constant but weaker radio waves between bursts. [2]

“The FRB field is moving very fast right now and new discoveries are coming out monthly. However, big questions still remain, and this object is giving us challenging clues about those questions,” said Sarah Burke-Spolaor, co-author of the study. 

Over a dozen FRBs have been localized before, five of which include repeating sources of FRBs. These discoveries, hastened by technological advances in radio telemetry and astronomy, allow scientists to slowly piece together more information about cosmic events like the death of massive and super-massive stars, and the merging of neutron stars and magnetars. [3]

References:

1. https://hindi.finax.in/strange-repeating-fast-radio-burst-frb-originating-from-distant-galaxy-detected-by-scientists/
2. https://gadgets360.com/science/news/radio-burst-originating-distant-galaxy-detected-by-scientists-3052369
3. https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/radio-signals-coming-from-space-detected-for-the-second-time-3052652

Cite this article:

Thanusri swetha J (2022), Strange Repeating Fast Radio Burst (FRB) Originating from Distant Galaxy Detected, Anatechmaz, pp.154