After 8 billion years.. Mysterious radio signal from deep space reaches Earth

The discovery of FRB 20220610A provides a unique opportunity to study the distant past of the universe.

A stunning discovery has shaken the astronomical community: A mysterious and powerful radio burst has reached Earth after traveling through space for an astonishing 8 billion years. Known as FRB 20220610A, it is one of the most distant and energetic ever detected. Earth.com It has been reported.

Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are short, intense flashes of radio waves that continue to baffle scientists. Their origins remain a cosmic mystery, with theories ranging from neutron stars to alien celestial bodies.

The discovery of FRB 20220610A provides a unique opportunity to study the distant past of the universe. The enormous distance the signal traveled suggests that it originated in a galaxy far, far away from our own, providing a glimpse into processes and events that have been beyond our reach.

Dr. Stuart Ryder, an astronomer at Macquarie University, is leading a team of scientists investigating this cosmic mystery. Using advanced search techniques, they hope to uncover the source of fast radio bursts and gain valuable insights into fundamental processes in the universe.

The full study was published in the journal sciences.

What are fast radio waves?

Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are short, intense pulses of radio waves lasting only milliseconds. Since their discovery in 2007, FRBs have captured the attention of scientists around the world because of their mysterious nature.

For example, a recent fast radio burst released in a fraction of a second as much energy as our Sun produces in 30 years.

Scientists believe these powerful explosions may be linked to magnetars, the high-energy remnants of supernova explosions.

To detect and trace the origin of these fast radio bursts, astronomers used the Australian Square Kilometre Probe Accelerator (ASKAP). “The radio dishes at ASKAP allowed us to pinpoint the source of the burst,” Dr Ryder explained.

The investigation did not stop there. Using the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope, the team was able to identify the source galaxy, which turned out to be older and farther away than any previous source of fast radio bursts.

Believe it or not, these fleeting cosmic explosions may help us “weigh” the universe. There’s a gap between the ordinary matter we can observe and the amount cosmologists think should exist. Could the missing matter be outside our observable range?

“More than half of the normal matter that is supposed to exist today is unknown,” says Professor Ryan Shannon. He suggests that this “missing” matter may be hiding in the vast, hot, diffuse regions between galaxies, making it difficult to detect by conventional methods.

This is where fast radio bursts come in. Their ability to “sense” ionized matter in nearby space allows scientists to measure the matter between galaxies. In 2020, Australian astronomer Jean-Pierre Macquart developed a method, now called the Macquart relation, that uses fast radio bursts to track this hidden matter.

“This discovery confirms the Macquart relationship, even for explosions that occur on the other side of the universe,” adds Dr. Ryder.

The mystery of the missing matter

The universe is vast and still holds many mysteries, especially the mismatch between observed matter and theory. The detection of fast radio bursts and their ability to track hidden matter provides a promising tool for solving this cosmic mystery. As Professor Shannon explains, fast radio bursts are able to detect electrons even in nearly empty space, allowing us to measure the elusive matter that is scattered throughout the universe.