Astronomers have made an astonishing discovery – a mysterious burst of radio waves reached Earth after traveling through space for 8 billion years. This event, dubbed FRB 20220610A, is one of the most distant and energetic radio signals ever observed.
Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are extremely intense flashes of radio waves that last only milliseconds, yet their origins remain a source of great intrigue. Researchers speculate that these cosmic events might be linked to magnetars, the highly energetic remnants left behind by exploding stars.
To detect the burst, scientists used the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP). “We used ASKAP’s radio dishes to skillfully pinpoint where the burst came from,” says Dr. Stuart Ryder, an esteemed astronomer at Macquarie University in Australia.
The team also located the source galaxy using the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope, discovering it to be older and more distant than any other FRB source found to date. The telescope confirmed that the burst came from a distant location, four times more energetic than closer FRBs.
Researchers relied on Hubble’s clarity to pinpoint the burst’s origin, which hinted at up to seven galaxies in the region merging. This discovery brings scientists one step closer to understanding the mystery behind these powerful flashes.
The ability of FRBs to “sense” ionized material in nearly empty space allows scientists to measure the matter located between galaxies, a method known as the Macquart relation. This detection confirms the existence of dark matter and dark energy, which make up 95% of the universe’s mass-energy content.
FRBs hold great promise for advancing our understanding of the universe. Professor Ryan Shannon believes that future radio telescopes will detect thousands more FRBs, creating a new map of the universe’s structure and answering big questions about cosmology.
The discovery of FRBs could revolutionize how we understand the cosmos, particularly in regards to the missing matter problem. Scientists are eager to figure out what kicks off these bursts, who (or what) their progenitors are, and where they form. With more advanced radio telescopes on the horizon, the future of FRB research is looking bright.
Despite our growing knowledge base, FRBs remain one of the universe’s great mysteries. As researchers venture deeper into the study of these cosmic flashes, we still have much to learn about the universe in which we live.
Source: https://www.earth.com/news/deep-space-radio-burst-frb-20220610a-reaches-earth-after-8-billion-year-journey