Scientists Think They've Solved the Mystery of a Bizarre Repeating Radio Signal from Space
https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/5d3545/fast-radio-burst-mystery-solved
For more than a decade, scientists have spotted weird radio signals in space that flash for a fraction of a second with an intense brightness that hints at mysterious and energetic sources. Dozens of these fast radio bursts, or FRBs, have been discovered—including one-off bursts and FRBs that emit multiple flashes, sometimes in clockwork patterns—yet their origins remain unknown.
Now, scientists led by Fayin Wang, an astronomer at Nanjing University in China, think they may have identified the likely source of one of the most enigmatic of all FRBs, which is known as FRB 20201124A. Since it was discovered in November 2020, this repeating burst has been seen going through super-charged periods of activity marked by many high-energy flashes, which have helped scientists trace its location to a galaxy some 1.3 billion miles from Earth.