Astronomers have used the world’s two largest radio telescopes to discover the second known example of a new type of fast radio burst (FRB) – mysterious, extremely powerful radio waves that pulsate in space thousands of times a day. The new FRB, called FRB 190520, is convincing evidence that the sources of these mysterious signals may be several celestial objects.
The new object was the second to be detected, producing repetitive FRBs and emitting a constant source of weaker radiation between bursts. The signal was described in detail in an article published in Nature.
Based on this data, astronomers conducted an analysis that helped to understand where it comes from in the universe and in the space around it. According to the team, there are probably several mechanisms in space that can produce these strange bursts. Most of these bursts have been recorded only once: they appear out of nowhere, explode, and then disappear forever. Therefore, they are difficult to predict and track. But several sources were recurring.
The studied FRB 190520B belongs to the second type. Astronomers have made additional observations and identified some of its amazing characteristics. It turned out that the signals came from the vicinity of the old dwarf galaxy, located at a distance of almost 3 billion light-years.
In the intervals between bursts, the source emits fewer radio emissions. This suggests that high-speed radio bursts come from a compact permanent radio source, the nature of which is unknown.
As a result, they concluded that the source of the bursts may be in a very complex plasma environment and that it was formed recently.
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