Science and Technology
In a paper published in Nature,
astronomers have reported a fast radio burst (FRB) whose characteristics are
different from almost all other FRBs previously detected, except one.
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Fast radio burst FRBs are bright flashes
of light that appear for a few milliseconds and then vanish.
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Since the first FRB was discovered in
2007, 140 more were discovered until June 2021, according to a post on the MIT
website.
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“Their origins are unknown, and their
appearance is unpredictable,” MIT said. New Study on Fast radio burst.
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The new study in Nature describes FRB
20190520B, first discovered in 2019.
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What makes it different is that unlike
many other FRBs, it emits frequent, repeating bursts of radio waves.
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Between bursts, it constantly emits weaker
radio waves.
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“Here we report the detection and
localization of the repeating FRB 190520B, which is co-located with a compact,
persistent radio source and associated with a dwarf host galaxy of high
specific-star-formation…,”
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The paper said.
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Only one FRB has been previously observed
to behave this way.
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Called FRB 121102, it was discovered in
2012.
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Significance
of new findings: Calling the behaviour strange, the US
National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) said that the discovery raises new
questions about the nature of these mysterious objects and also about their
usefulness as tools for studying the nature of intergalactic space.
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The astronomers have suggested that there
may be two different mechanisms producing FRBs, or that the objects producing
them may act differently at different stages.
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