The number of the fast radio bursts catalogued has dramatically increased, after a Canadian telescope detected 535 new examples. Fast radio bursts are

Scientists find hundreds of examples of mysterious radio blasts coming from deep in the universe

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2021-06-10 13:30:04

The number of the fast radio bursts catalogued has dramatically increased, after a Canadian telescope detected 535 new examples.

Fast radio bursts are intensely powerful, but extremely short, blasts of energy that reach us from unknown sources in the distant universe. Researchers have been looking for their source for years, since they were first discovered in 2007, with only 140 examples of them to go by.

Now, however, that number has quadrupled. Researchers using a Canadian telescope known as CHIME say they have found 535 examples in its first year of operation, between 2018 and 2019.

As well as vastly expanding the current catalogue of FRBs, it has led to the discovery of what appear to be specific kinds of them: some repeat, while others don’t. Of the sources, 18 seem to repeat and the rest do not – and those that repeat have different characteristics, lasting a little longer and emitting in more focused frequencies.

Researchers have assembled the findings into a new FRB catalogue, which they hope can be used to further understand where the blasts are coming from.