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The mystery surrounding fast radio bursts (FBRs) is nearing the solution. Literally, because a new study confirms it the origin of a fast explosion that reaches us from the Milky Way itself. They are the closest detected and this makes them easier to study and understand, even if they are 30,000 light years from Earth.
Few things more mysterious than radio signals reaching Earth. Sometimes random, sometimes periodic, sometimes more powerful than others … In 2007 the first were detected and since then some of the most curious are the one that arrives every 16 days or the one that arrives for about 90 days and then they are 67 days of silence. sometimes we are even fooled by a simple microwave.
30,000 light years away and due to a magnetar
In a paper published in Nature these days confirms the suspicions that there were a few months ago about what the first fast radio flash detected in the Milky Way. The new analyzes have established that it is actually caused by an extremely powerful object in our galaxy, a magnetar.
Artist’s impression of what a magnetar would look like. There are about 30 magnetars in our galaxy that we have been able to discover to date. These objects are actually neutron stars with an extremely powerful magnetic field. Neutron stars are the super-dense “debris” that form when a massive star, larger than our Sun, collapses in on itself. The magnetic field it has together with the radiation it emits causes radio signals to reach us so far.
Track the origin of fast radio bursts It is not at all easy, given its randomness or short duration as we have seen previously. However, this time around we were lucky enough to find its origin by being closer to us than on any previous occasion. Knowing the origin, astronomers can now continue to study the magnetar and the area to better understand how and why these types of signals are emitted.
Two different observatories in North America, CHIME in Canada and STARE2 in the United States detected this FRB coming from the same part of the sky. This too coincided in time and place with another cosmic event. A few days earlier, astronomers found that the magnetar had become more active, sending out X-ray and gamma-ray signals. data from the intersection confirmed that the fast radio bursts originated from the same spot.
There is still a lot to investigate in this regard, however what is clear is this at least one type of fast radio bursts is activated by magnetars. Having about 30 more magnetars in the galaxy, it is also possible to investigate these for fast radio bursts that we seek and do not find by chance.
Street | MIT
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