The phenomenon of Fast Radio Bursts continues to puzzle scientists. The flashes of radio energy are so bright that they can travel billions of light-years and still be observable.
The second ever Fast Radio Burst, which is highly active and repeating, was detected by Astronomers. The majority of FRBs last a few milliseconds and repeat at irregular intervals.
Three billion light-years away from Earth, an object called FRB 190520 is the source of the burst. It was first observed with the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST) in China, then astronomer were able to locate it using data from the Very Large array and the Subaru Telescope.
The first repeating FRB was discovered in 2016 and was a big deal. The first and recently discovered object are similar because of their radio emissions.
According to one of the authors, the characteristics make this one look like the first FRB whose position was determined by the VLA back in 2016 Two like this bring up some important questions.
It is possible that there are two different processes that create repeating and non-repeating bursts. These objects evolve over time to give off different bursts.
Is there a difference between those that repeat and those that don't? One of the co-author's asked, "Is that common?"
Magnetars are a type of star with a strong magnetic field and are thought to be the reason for the creation of FRBs. It is not clear how a dramatic pulse could be created by the way magnets give off radio waves. There are other theories that suggest the bursts could be related to supernova explosions or dark matter.
The research is in a journal.
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