Mysterious signals recurring from a distant galaxy keep astronomers confused – teach me about science

In 2007, astronomers observed a fast radio burst (FRB) for the first time. The source of these phenomena is a mystery because they often occur and never recur. It has now been discovered second mark Of this kind, but frequent, which makes it possible to study it, although it raises new questions.

An international team of astronomers has found a second example of an active and repetitive fast radio burst (FRB) with a weaker but constant compressed source of radio emissions between bursts, mentioned in a press release. The discovery raises new questions about the nature of these mysterious objects and also about their usefulness as tools for studying the nature of intergalactic space.

The new source named FRB 20190520B was found by the 500-meter aperture spherical radio telescope (FAST) in China in May 2019. Scientists became aware of the data in November 2019 and since then the mission has been tracing its source and what is possible.

Using the Karl G. Matrix VLA studies have also revealed that the body consistently emits weaker radio waves between bursts.

FRBs are very active and, as their name suggests, “quick blast radius,” they only last for milliseconds. They are not common, and most of them come from other galaxies. We usually only discover them once and never happen again, making it nearly impossible to trace them and explain their origin.

According to the researchers, it appears that the recent radio explosion came from a compressed fixed radio source, the nature of which is unknown. Something familiar was discovered in 2012, a famous fast-repeating radio blast called FRB 121102. Are repeaters different from non-repeaters? The differences between these open up the possibility that they are actually from different sources.

“These features make this very similar to the first FRB that was positioned – also by the VLA – back in 2016,” He said in a statement Casey Law Caltech. This development was a breakthrough, providing the first information about the FRB environment and distance. However, a combination of repeated bursts and continuous radio emissions between bursts, coming from a compressed region, set the 2016 object, named FRB 121102, apart from all other known FRBs, thus far.

What is its possible origin? The main candidates for FRB sources are the super-dense neutron stars left after the explosion of a massive star in the form of a supernova, or neutron stars with ultra-strong magnetic fields, called magnetars.

“The field of FRBs is moving very quickly at the moment, with new discoveries emerging every month. However, there are still big questions, and this object is giving us hard clues about those questions.” Sarah Burke Spoiler said:from West Virginia University (WVU).

The results appear in temper nature.