Astronomers have discovered a mysterious flash in space. They had never seen one like this before

–

Astronomers have discovered an unusual, periodically repeating, radio signal from a distant galaxy. It lasts up to three seconds, which is a thousand times longer than is common for this phenomenon. It also features the most distinct repeating pattern yet observed in radio bursts. Scientists compare it to a heartbeat.

The remarkable discovery was made by an international team of astronomers, who described it in a study published this week in a professional journal Nature. They caught a fast radio burst (FRB), a phenomenon not unknown to scientists exploring the universe. But they still don’t know the source of these flashes. The discovery could help them crack this mystery.

The newly discovered radio signal, which they named FRB 20191221A, is fascinating in its own right. A common FRB takes only a few milliseconds to die out and is usually a random one-off event. But this case is different. It lasts up to three seconds, i.e. a thousand times longer than the average for this phenomenon.

In addition, the flash repeats itself, with the greatest regularity that astronomers have so far recorded for FRBs. “It was unusual. Not only was it very long, but it repeated itself with remarkable precision. The radiation came every fraction of a second. Boom, boom, boom. Like a heartbeat. It’s the first time that the signal itself is periodic,” one of the authors described the discovery study, astrophysicist Daniele Michilli, who works at MIT University, among others.

​In the future, researchers will try to catch more flashes from the same source, which could help them figure out what the source of the FRB is. The flare 20191221A could also serve as a kind of astrophysical clock. The frequency of the signal will change as the source moves away from Earth, which astronomers could use to measure the expansion of the universe.

FRBs were first discovered in 2007 and are still a mystery to scientists. According to astronomers, the main suspects are types of neutron stars known as radio pulsars and magnetars. A new discovery suggests that this theory might be correct. “We believe this new signal could be a magnetar or pulsar ‘on steroids,'” Michilli stated.

Pulsars are neutron stars that rotate rapidly and emit very intense radiation. Magnetars, on the other hand, are characterized by an extremely strong magnetic field. All types of neutron stars form when very massive stars reach the end of their lives. This is accompanied by a massive supernova explosion, which leaves behind an object so dense that one teaspoon would weigh almost four trillion kilograms.

The deepest insight into space! NASA showed images from the Webb Telescope:

​

TN.cz

–