For nearly 20 years, astronomers have been tracing powerful flashes of radio waves called fast radio bursts (FRBs). Recently, they made a breakthrough by finding the brightest-ever FRB and pinpointing its origin to a nearby galaxy.
These bursts are thought to arise from violent cosmic events, like collisions between neutron stars. They release immense energy—more than our Sun produces in a year—yet they vanish in a blink. This quick nature made it tough for scientists to trace their origins until now.
“We detected numerous FRBs, but had very rough ideas about their locations,” said Bryan Gaensler, a co-author of the study and dean at UC Santa Cruz. “It was like speaking on the phone without knowing where the caller was.” He added, “Now, we know their exact address and even which room they’re in.”
The bright flash offers vital clues about its source. Researchers published their findings in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.
This record-setting FRB, dubbed FRB 20250316A, was detected in March from the direction of the Big Dipper using the CHIME radio telescope in British Columbia. It’s nicknamed “RBFLOAT,” short for “Radio Brightest Flash Of All Time.” In just a few milliseconds, it emitted more energy than the Sun does in four days.
The advanced CHIME system, now aided by a new telescope array stretching from B.C. to West Virginia, was key in locating this FRB. This network can detect extremely fast and bright radio signals.
While many FRBs repeat over time, RBFLOAT produced its energy in one powerful burst. After that initial flash, astronomers did not observe additional bursts from the same source.
Researchers traced the burst to a small region about 45 light-years wide in a galaxy approximately 130 million light-years away. The flash originated near a spiral arm filled with star-forming areas but wasn’t in one of those active regions.
“It’s astonishing that just months after our new telescope array started operating, we found such a bright FRB in our cosmic neighborhood,” said Wen-fai Fong, a senior author of the study from Northwestern University.
Using data from the Keck Cosmic Web Imager in Hawaii, researchers analyzed RBFLOAT’s surroundings. They looked at aspects like the gas density and the rate of star formation in the galaxy.
The precise cause of the flash is still a mystery, but the team suspects a magnetar—a supernova remnant with a strong magnetic field—could be behind it. “Spiral arms often indicate ongoing star formation, hinting that it might have come from a magnetar,” said Yuxin “Vic” Dong, a co-author. “Interestingly, we found it just outside the nearest star-forming area.”
This suggests the magnetar might have moved from its birthplace or could have formed right where the FRB occurred. With the CHIME Outriggers now fully operational, astronomers expect to identify more FRBs each year, bringing them closer to deciphering their origins.
“This finding marks a major shift,” said Amanda Cook, a postdoctoral researcher at McGill University. “Instead of merely detecting these mysterious flashes, we can now track their exact sources. This opens the door to discovering whether they come from dying stars, unique magnetic objects, or entirely new phenomena.”
Understanding FRBs can shed light on cosmic events and the universe’s evolution. As researchers continue to gather data, additional secrets of the cosmos may unfold.
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Astronomy,Astrophysics,fast radio burst,magnetars,Radio telescopes,stars
