Second Time's the Charm: Another Repeating Fast Radio Burst Found

 

This second repeating FRB was discovered in the same patch of sky as the first repeater, which was found earlier this year, on November 2nd, 2015. It was detected just 15 hours after the first repeater, suggesting that these repeated FRBs come from close to Earth’s own galaxy, the Milky Way.

 

The discovery

Astronomers have discovered a second repeating fast radio burst (FRB) — and we now know that these events originate in galaxies billions of light-years away. The finding suggests that many FRBs are out there waiting to be found, and it also raises new questions about what might be causing these powerful but fleeting radio emissions.

 

The team

People have observed only one repeating fast radio burst (FRB) until now. The first, FRB 121102, was detected by a team of astronomers using West Virginia’s Green Bank Telescope in 2012. That FRB has been observed to repeat on average every 10 milliseconds, which is extraordinarily short in astronomical terms. By comparison, it takes our sun about 24 hours to rotate around its axis once.

 

What are FRBs?

FRBs are highly energetic events from deep space that emit as much energy in one millisecond as our sun emits in 10,000 years. They last only a few milliseconds and have been found to repeat. FRBs are believed to originate from distant galaxies, billions of light-years away. The discovery was made using CSIRO’s Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) radio telescope near Warrumbungle National Park in western New South Wales, Australia.

 

Are they aliens?

Astronomers are excited to announce they have found another repeating fast radio burst (FRB) emanating from space. The discovery, first announced in January, has been confirmed through follow-up observations by multiple observatories, including Arecibo Observatory, Green Bank Telescope, and Effelsberg 100-m Telescope. These repeating FRBs are one of astrophysics' biggest mysteries, and their origin remains a mystery.

 

A deeper look at FRBs

While fast radio bursts are still a bit of a mystery, astronomers think they may be caused by neutron stars colliding. The repeater’s location, just off from where FRB 121102 was first detected, is an important clue for future studies on what causes these enigmatic events. The repeating burst could be coming from a different source than FRB 121102—or it could be coming from another instance of that same source, simply repeating again after being dormant for years.

 

Conclusion and aftermath

In all, 15 FRBs have been identified by astronomers to date. But there are likely many more out there, scientists say. In fact, Kiyoshi Masui of Japan’s National Astronomical Observatory told New Scientist that researchers estimate there could be 10,000 of these repeating FRBs in space at any given time. And knowing where they come from—and what’s causing them—is a major step toward understanding our universe on a deeper level than ever before.