Researchers have stumbled upon a perplexing discovery: fast-repeating radio bursts originating from a galaxy devoid of the energy needed to produce such signals. This finding challenges our understanding of FRB origins and opens up new avenues for exploration.
Astronomers have detected a puzzling mystery: fast-repeating radio bursts emanating from a distant 'dead' galaxy. This discovery challenges existing theories about the origins of these energetic signals.Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are sudden flashes of radio waves lasting just milliseconds. While typically associated with young, magnetized neutron stars expending energy during formation, the galaxy from which these bursts originate should contain only old, dead stars.
This ancient elliptical galaxy, located about 2 billion light-years from Earth, is home to FRB 20240209A. This moniker refers to a series of radio bursts detected by the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME) telescope in British Columbia. To pinpoint the source, astronomers used the Gemini North telescope in Hawaii, theorizing the presence of a faint galaxy previously undetected. This finding throws a wrench into prevailing theories, as FRBs are generally expected to originate within galaxies actively forming new stars. Researchers are now exploring possibilities like merging or collapsing neutron stars as potential origins for these enigmatic bursts. Further investigations into these FRBs will shed light on the space between the galaxy and our own Milky Way, providing valuable insights into distant regions of the cosmos
FAST RADIO BURSTS GALAXIES ASTROPHYSICS NEUTRON STARS CHIME TELESCOPE
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