Source of radio burst detected 3 billion light years away

A mysterious radio burst that has puzzled scientists for many years has just been traced to a location more than 3 billion light years from Earth.

The image can be seen from the very small galaxy that the radio burst with the symbol FRB121102 emitted from - Photo: CNN

Nearly a decade after the first Fast Radio Burst (FRB) was discovered, an international team of scientists has finally located the source of one such signal from a small galaxy in the Auriga constellation, CNN reports.

Scientists initially thought that the mysterious FRBs—infrequent bursts of radio waves—came from within our own galaxy. But a new study published in the journal Nature suggests that the signals originated from a tiny planet, just 1% the size of our galaxy.

"These FRBs must have had enormous amounts of energy to be visible from more than 3 billion light years away," said Cornell University researcher Shami Chatterjee.

FRBs were first discovered in 2007 and since then, scientists have devoted a lot of effort to verify their origin and cause. Currently, scientists have recorded 18 such radio bursts.

However, according to researchers at McGill University, all of these FRBs were detected by telescopes, and it is impossible to trace the source to pinpoint exactly where the signals came from.

In 2012, scientists at Cornell University discovered an FRB signal that only lasted for a blink of an eye, designated FRB121102. This flash occasionally repeats.

After more than 50 hours of searching the sky to locate the signal, fortunately scientists were able to detect its origin.

After discovering the origin of an FRB, scientists are finally getting closer to explaining what causes these anomalous signals.

According to TTO