A Bizarre Fast Radio Burst From 3 Billion Light-Years Away
Summary
The team’s paper also points to compelling evidence that indicates there may be more than one source behind these mysterious emissions, which they believe is located situated in a dwarf galaxy about 3 billion light-years from Earth. Though scientists don’t yet fully understand the astrophysical processes behind FRBs, these high-intensity radio pulses can release on average about the same amount of energy in a millisecond as the Sun will put out in three days. More recently in 2020, scientists detected an FRB within our local galaxy, which originated from a special type of quickly rotating, and highly magnetized neutron star called a magnetar. At the time, astronomers believed that FRB 121102 was a unique phenomenon, as it follows a strange pattern where it emits more powerful, rapid bursts of radio waves, then afterward undergoes 67 days of weaker discharges. In addition, FRB 190520’s location in a dwarf galaxy approximately 3 billion light-years away was later determined using the National Science Foundation’s Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) in New Mexico.