Australian telescope detects more mysterious radio signals

A newly discovered radio burst 6 billion light-years away has further puzzled astronomers about the source of the signal.

Newly discovered radio bursts come from the constellation Leo. Photo: Popular Mechanics.

Just four days after starting the study, the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) telescope located near Murchison, Western Australia, detected a rare series of radio waves, also known as radio bursts, coming from the constellation Leo, Longroom reported yesterday.

These peculiar signals, lasting only a few milliseconds, are thought to originate billions of light years away. However, scientists still do not know what causes them.

A team from the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Curtin University and the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR) discovered the new burst using just eight telescope dishes.

The ASKAP telescope is equipped with a total of 36 dishes, which can observe a single location in the sky or point in different directions. When using 8 dishes, the device can simultaneously monitor a 240-degree coverage area.

The new burst, called FRB170107, is extremely bright and therefore easy to spot. By using more dishes, the team may be able to detect more bursts. The latest burst came from the edge of the constellation Leo.

FRB170107 likely traveled through the universe for 6 billion years at the speed of light before being detected by telescopes. Its brightness and distance suggest the burst was associated with a huge energy source.

But the new findings make the problem of pinpointing the source of the signal even more difficult. "We're making a difficult problem even harder," said Dr. Ryan Shannon, who analyzed the strength and location of the bursts.

According to VNE