Astronomers Detect a Fast Radio Burst , With a 'Heartbeat' Pattern , From a Distant Galaxy.
CNN reports that a mysterious
radio burst, named FRB 20191221A,
has been detected by astronomers.
The signal lasted for up to
three seconds, which is approximately 1,000 times
longer than typical fast radio bursts (FRBs).
It was also the first time
astronomers have encountered, a periodic signal.
FRB 20191221A has a pattern similar to a heartbeat.
Not only was it very long, lasting about
three seconds, but there were periodic
peaks that were remarkably precise,
emitting every fraction of a second
— boom, boom, boom —
like a heartbeat, Daniele Michilli, postdoctoral researcher in
the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Kavli
Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research, via CNN.
According to the team at the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment, the signal offers clues about its origins and what may have caused it. .
According to the researchers, the signal
was similar to emissions released by a neutron star,
specifically either a radio pulsar or a magnetar.
However, this signal also appears over
one million times brighter than previous
observations of those types of neutron stars.
We think this new signal could be
a magnetar or pulsar on steroids, Daniele Michilli, postdoctoral researcher in
the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Kavli
Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research, via CNN.
This detection raises the question
of what could cause this extreme signal
that we've never seen before,
and how can we use this signal
to study the universe, Daniele Michilli, postdoctoral researcher in
the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Kavli
Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research, via CNN.
On July 13, a study detailing
the findings was published
in the journal 'Nature.'