Russian astronomers uncover powerful burst from deep space
Russian astronomers have detected a bright pulse at a frequency of 111 MHz with the help of the Large Phased Array (LPA) radio telescope. They shared their findings in an article published on the electronic scientific preprint archive arXiv. The astronomers believe the mysterious signal is most likely an extragalactic fast radio burst.
3:33 PM EDT, October 28, 2024
A team of Russian astronomers, working on the Pushchino Multibeams Pulsar Search (PUMPS) project and using the LPA radio telescope in Pushchino, Russia, identified an intriguing signal in space. It is likely one of the so-called fast radio bursts (FRBs), also referred to as extragalactic fast radio signals.
Mysterious signals from space
Fast radio bursts are extremely brief but intense bursts of radio waves originating from space. They last just a few milliseconds, yet within that short time, they can release as much energy as the Sun emits over several days. FRBs are among the greatest mysteries in modern astrophysics since their precise origin and the mechanisms producing these signals remain largely unexplained. Most FRBs are detected as singular events, although there are also repeating FRBs emitting bursts multiple times from the same source.
According to the Phys service, the FRB 20190203 signal observed by the Russian team lasted 211 milliseconds, and its dispersion measure suggested an extragalactic origin. Furthermore, the signal appeared to come from about 2.3 billion light-years. The Russian astronomers noted that the characteristics of FRB 20190203 suggest it is one of the most powerful fast radio bursts documented. It is also the first burst discovered within the PUMPS project and the second fast radio burst detected at a low frequency (111 MHz).
Astronomers believe the signal's source is likely related to synchrotron radiation from young magnetars. The European Southern Observatory explains that magnetars are unusual, highly dense remnants of supernova explosions with extremely strong magnetic fields. Often referred to as the strongest magnets in the universe, their power is a million times greater than the magnets found on Earth. Magnetars can produce radio pulses during specific magnetic activities.
