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A mysterious radio burst from space is back, right on schedule - CNET
Roughly every 161 days it starts all over again.
In June this year, astronomers found a fast radio burst (FRB), FRB 121102, repeating in a regular pattern, from somewhere in deep space. It was only the second time a radio burst with a discernible, repeating pattern was discovered. The first was discovered back in February this year.
FRBs are transient radio pulses that vary in length between a fraction of a millisecond and a few milliseconds. We're still not sure why they exist or what they are. The source of this particular FRB is a dwarf galaxy more than 3 billion light years away.
Back in June a study, published in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, theorized FRB 121102 repeated every 157 days based on data they'd accumulated over a five-year period. The team predicted they'd pick up another signal in July or August of this year.
And they did: Right on cue, FRB 121102 kicked off.
Roughly every 161 days it starts all over again.
In June this year, astronomers found a fast radio burst (FRB), FRB 121102, repeating in a regular pattern, from somewhere in deep space. It was only the second time a radio burst with a discernible, repeating pattern was discovered. The first was discovered back in February this year.
FRBs are transient radio pulses that vary in length between a fraction of a millisecond and a few milliseconds. We're still not sure why they exist or what they are. The source of this particular FRB is a dwarf galaxy more than 3 billion light years away.
Back in June a study, published in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, theorized FRB 121102 repeated every 157 days based on data they'd accumulated over a five-year period. The team predicted they'd pick up another signal in July or August of this year.
And they did: Right on cue, FRB 121102 kicked off.