New data from a Canadian-led team of astronomers, including researchers from the McGill Space Institute and McGill University Department of Physics, strongly suggest that magnetars—a type of neutron star believed to have an extremely powerful magnetic field—could be the source of some fast radio bursts (FRBs). Though much research has been done to explain the mysterious phenomenon, their source has thus…
Tag: fast radio bursts
The first star in our galaxy caught sending out fast radio bursts is doing it again
A little dead star that dazzled us earlier this year is not done with its shenanigans. Source: https://www.livescience.com/that-galactic-frb-has-been-caught-spitting-out-more-strange-radio-bursts.html
VLBA makes first direct distance measurement to magnetar
Astronomers using the National Science Foundation’s Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) have made the first direct geometric measurement of the distance to a magnetar within our Milky Way Galaxy—a measurement that could help determine if magnetars are the sources of the long-mysterious Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs). Source: https://phys.org/news/2020-09-vlba-distance-magnetar.html…
Repeating fast radio burst woke up again on schedule. Now what?
FRB 121102 is one of the few known repeating fast radio bursts, and astronomers are trying to use this new period of activity to understand it better. Some predict the current active phase should end sometime between August 31 and September 9. Will it? Source: https://earthsky.org/space/repeating-fast-radio-burst-frb-121102-wakes-up-chime…
Astronomers ponder Odd Radio Circles in space
Scientists in Australia have discovered a strange new phenomenon in deep space – “Odd Radio Circles” – that appear in radio telescope images as mysterious circles or rings. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/astronomers-ponder-odd-radio-circles-in-space…
How many ETs are in our galaxy? Ask the Alien Civilization Calculator
Researchers at Omni Calculator have created the Alien Civilization Calculator, a unique combination of two different methods of trying to determine how many advanced alien civilizations may exist in our galaxy. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/alien-civilization-calculator-extraterrestrial-intelligence-seti…
University students develop AI to detect fast radio bursts
West Virginia University’s Duncan Lorimer might be the godfather of the fast radio burst, but a pair of international students has taken exploring these mysterious cosmic flashes to a new level. Source: https://phys.org/news/2020-06-university-students-ai-fast-radio.html…
Astronomers detect regular rhythm of radio waves, with origins unknown
A team of astronomers, including researchers at MIT, has picked up on a curious, repeating rhythm of fast radio bursts emanating from an unknown source outside our galaxy, 500 million light years away. Source: https://phys.org/news/2020-06-astronomers-regular-rhythm-radio-unknown.html…
Has mystery of universe’s missing matter been solved?
Cosmologists have only been able to find half the matter that should exist in the universe. With the discovery of a new astronomical phenomenon and new telescopes, these researchers say they’ve just found the rest. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/cosmic-bursts-unveil-universe-missing-matter-mystery…
Extremely intense radio burst detected from magnetar SGR 1935+2154
Using the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME) radio telescope, astronomers have detected a bright, millisecond-duration radio burst from a galactic magnetar known as SGR 1935+2154. The discovery of such an extremely intense event, reported in a paper published May 20, could be important for improving the understanding of the origin of fast radio bursts (FRBs). Source: https://phys.org/news/2020-05-extremely-intense-radio-magnetar-sgr.html…