Astronomers have detected mysterious radio bursts emanating from the outskirts of a galaxy long thought to be dead. The discovery challenges previous ideas about the origin of fast radio bursts (FRBs), which are usually associated with the explosions of young stars. write Live Science.
According to two new studies published Jan. 21 in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, astronomers detected 22 such signals between February and November 2024. They were detected using the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME), an array of radio telescopes in British Columbia.
"This observation of a very dead galaxy tells us that there must be some other mechanism for the origin of FRBs," — noted astrophysicist Taras Eftekhari.
It was previously thought that such radio bursts were caused by supernova explosions in young galaxies, rich in the gas and dust needed to form new stars. However, the new discovery contradicts this theory. The galaxy from which the signals come is 11 billion years old and has long since stopped forming stars.
Scientists are currently unable to explain what exactly is causing these bursts, but this could indicate the existence of unknown astronomical processes that can generate FRBs even in the most unlikely of circumstances.
Thank you for being with us! Monobank for the support of the ElitExpert editorial office.
