Science & Tech · Space · 10 hrs ago
Distant radio burst points to a possible young-star origin
Fast radio bursts are brief, powerful flashes of radio energy whose origins are still uncertain.
Researchers traced one of them, called FRB 20240304B, to a small dwarf galaxy.
It was detected by the MeerKAT radio telescope array on March 4, 2024, and the James Webb Space Telescope helped identify its home galaxy.
The burst occurred about three billion years after the Big Bang, when most stars in that galaxy were thought to be about 30 million years old.
That suggests a very young object, possibly a magnetar, could have caused the burst.
The finding challenges ideas that such bursts need billions of years to develop, though it may also mean that more than one process produces them.
Researchers hope MeerKAT will find several similar bursts each year, allowing them to study galaxies from the early universe.
Researchers traced the distant fast radio burst FRB 20240304B to a small dwarf galaxy.
The burst occurred about three billion years after the Big Bang, when most stars in the galaxy were likely about 30 million years old.
The finding suggests that fast radio bursts may originate from very young stars, challenging theories that they require billions of years to develop.
A young neutron star with an extremely strong magnetic field, known as a magnetar, is one possible source.
The research team hopes to find more bursts from the early universe.
- Who
- A research team led by Manisha Caleb of the University of Sydney.
- What
- Researchers located the source of the fast radio burst FRB 20240304B in a small dwarf galaxy.
- When
- The burst was detected on March 4, 2024. It occurred about three billion years after the Big Bang.
- Where
- In a small dwarf galaxy.
- Why
- The galaxy’s young stars suggest the burst may have come from a young object, such as a magnetar.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
The MeerKAT radio telescope array detected FRB 20240304B.
The James Webb Space Telescope showed that a galaxy was at the burst’s origin.
Heise reported that the research describing the source galaxy was being presented in Science.
- Burst
- FRB 20240304B
- Detection date
- March 4, 2024
- Detection instrument
- MeerKAT
- Origin
- A small dwarf galaxy
- Time after Big Bang
- About 3 billion years
- Likely age of most stars in the galaxy
- About 30 million years
Sources
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