An unprecedented anomaly has been discovered in fast radio bursts, say astronomers

Scientists seek to unravel the secrets of mysterious deep space signals, thanks to a strange discovery involving a fast repeating radio burst (FRB). Imagine a flash of radio light, brighter than a billion suns, lasting just a millisecond. They are FRBs, and they usually come from outside our Milky Way Galaxy. Most are one-time events, but some “repeaters” fire multiple bursts, leaving scientists scratching their heads about their origins.

A recent study published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society He opened the mysterious box a little wider. They observed highly active recurring FRBs behaving in a completely unprecedented way. This cosmic chatter box fires bursts with a strange “glide whistle” effect, signaling something new and exciting in the world of deep space phenomena.

While the exact cause of fast radio bursts remains a mystery, this new discovery represents a major step forward in understanding these mysterious celestial bodies. It’s like finding a new word in a strange language, providing a tantalizing clue to a whole new conversation with the universe.

according to CNN, Astronomers tried to determine whether there was a pattern within the timings between each burst, similar to some known fast, repetitive radio bursts. But researchers were unable to detect a single one for FRB 20220912A, which also suggests that celestial events can be unpredictable as well.

“This work is exciting because it provides confirmation of known FRB properties and the discovery of some new ones,” lead study author Dr. Sofia Shaikh, a National Science Foundation MPS-Ascend postdoctoral fellow at the SETI Institute, said in a statement.

What are fast radio bursts?

according to Space.com websiteFast radio bursts (FRBs) are intense bursts of radio waves that can emit as much energy as the Sun emits in three days – but only in milliseconds. Much about these events remains mysterious.

Fast radio bursts come from all over the sky and have frequencies around 1400 Hz, although some have been detected with frequencies as low as 400 to 800 Hz. Some scientists estimate that 10,000 FRBs could occur at random points in the sky above Earth every day. However, most fast radio bursts last only milliseconds, and by the time their energy reaches Earth, they are 1,000 times weaker than a mobile phone signal if they were emitted from the Moon and detected on Earth. Because these signals are very weak and very short, fast radio bursts are very difficult to detect.