Astronomers have discovered that cosmic fireworks displays near neutron stars could be responsible for mysterious radio bursts called fast radio bursts (FRBs). Research published in the journal Nature suggests that FRBs originate from extremely close to these dead stars, equivalent to just twice the distance between New York and Los Angeles.
Neutron stars are stellar remnants created when massive stars die. These stars spin so fast that they can celebrate an Earth New Year around twice a second. The magnetic fields near neutron stars are at the limits of what the universe can produce, making them ideal locations for cosmic fireworks displays.
FRBs put earthly human-made fireworks to shame with their incredible power, emitting energy equivalent to three days’ worth of sunlight in just a thousandth of a second. Despite being rare, thousands of FRBs have been detected since 2007, and some are so close that they occur within the Milky Way galaxy.
The cause of FRBs has remained a mystery, but research suggests that powerful blasts of energy near neutron stars could be responsible. Scientists used an analysis method called scintillation to determine the location of one particularly unique FRB, FRB 20221022A.
This technique revealed that the origin point of FRB 20221022A was within a region just around 1/40th the distance between Earth and the moon, extremely close to the neutron star. The team’s findings rule out the possibility that FRBs emerge from shockwaves hitting wider environments, suggesting that energy stored in magnetic fields near the source is twisted and reconfigured to be released as radio waves.
This research marks the first evidence of FRBs beginning close to neutron stars, offering a new insight into these mysterious events. The team hopes their scintillation technique can now be applied to other FRBs, shedding more light on this phenomenon.
Source: https://www.space.com/the-universe/stars/frb-fireworks-neutronstar-newyear-2025