Enlarge / The Very Large Array radiotelescope. (credit: NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day)
The source of fast radio bursts (FRBs)—an extremely brief flash of radio waves coming from space—remains unknown despite new observations. These events, of which only 17 have been observed, are largely mysterious. Until now, there’s been little indication where in the Universe they take place, and consequently there’s been no way to know what physical process is causing the flashes.
But in quick succession, two papers have suggested that the FRBs either come from a single object that can create repeated bursts or that the bursts come from the catastrophic destruction of a neutron star and thus can't possibly repeat. Just as quickly, the second results, which placed the source outside our galaxy, have been called into question.
As far back as the first FRB’s discovery in 2007, there was some indication that the source was outside the Milky Way. There was a difference in the arrival time at different wavelengths. The shortest radio waves arrived slightly earlier than their longer wavelength counterparts.
Read 27 remaining paragraphs | Comments
No comments:
Post a Comment