Record-Breaking Blast: Astronomers Uncover Most Powerful and Distant FRB Ever Detected
Astronomers detect the most powerful and distant fast radio burst (FRB) from a galaxy 8 billion light years away. The burst could help understand the universe's structure and increase cosmological knowledge.
Astronomers have detected an incredibly powerful blast of radio waves that originated from a distant galaxy approximately 8 billion light years away. This fast radio burst (FRB), named FRB 20220610A, is the most powerful and most distant FRB ever recorded. The burst lasted less than a millisecond but released as much energy as the sun emits over 30 years.
The origin of FRBs is still unknown, but scientists believe that magnetars highly magnetic dead stars are the prime suspects. The researchers used the ASKAP radio telescope in Australia to detect the FRB and the Very Large Telescope in Chile to determine its source galaxy. The source galaxy appears to be older and more distant than any other previously discovered FRB source and may be a part of a group of merging galaxies.
FRBs could potentially be used as a tool to measure the amount of matter present between galaxies, which could help in understanding the structure of the universe. Scientists believe that more advanced radio telescopes in the future could detect thousands more FRBs, providing valuable insights into cosmological questions.