Radio burst from within Milky Way may help solve cosmic mystery

Astrophysicists have detected a burst of cosmic radio waves within our galaxy for the first time.

Context

• Astrophysicists have detected a burst of cosmic radio waves within our galaxy for the first time.

Key points

• The fast radio bursts (FRBs)originates in the formof powerful intense flashes of radio emission that only last a few milliseconds.
• They are typically extragalactic, meaning they originate outside our galaxy, but a multiple telescopes detected a bright FRB from the same area within our Milky Way.
• Magnetars, young neutron stars that are the most magnetic objects in the universe, have long been prime suspects in the hunt for the source of these radio bursts.
• As many as 10,000 FRBs may occur every day.
• These high-energy surges were only discovered in 2007.
• Both STARE2 and the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME) spotted the flare and attributed it to the magnetar.
• This region of the sky came into view of the extremely sensitive Five Hundred Meter Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST) in China.