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The origin of the mysterious radio bursts in space has puzzled scientists for years, until now.
A strange spatial mystery that has puzzled astronomers for years is one step closer to being solved.
The Fast Radio Bursts (FRB) phenomenon was first detected by Australian radio astronomers at the Parkes Telescope in 2007 (using archived data from 2001).
FRBs are a glow of electromagnetic energy, with the intensity of tens of millions of suns.
More than 100 have been identified since 2007.
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Earlier this year, scientists discovered that the chirps didn’t come by chance – they were on a predictable schedule.
Now, researchers at Canadian McGill University think they understand where the chirps are coming from.
Magnetars – a type of neuronal star with an incredibly strong magnetic field, could be the culprit.
A team of about 50 students and professors from the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME) detected an “unusually intense” explosion in April.
They traced it to a magnetar in the Milky Way and, due to its proximity, they now think the stars could be a source for at least some of the FRBs we’ve encountered from Earth.
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“Such an intense burst from another galaxy would be indistinguishable from some fast radio bursts, so this really gives weight to the theory that suggests that magnetars may be behind at least some FRBs,” said Pragya Chawla, senior PhD student at McGill University. .
Detection isn’t a smoking gun yet.
For full confirmation, scientists would need to detect a radio burst from another galaxy and an X-ray burst at the same time.
McGill University said this would require a nearby FRB, but noted that CHIME is discovering them “in good numbers.”
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