The discovery of a new set of radio signals confirms that these mysterious ‘Fast Radio Bursts
(FRBs) originate outside our planet and even our galaxy.
One of the greatest mysteries of the universe—for modern scietnists—are the so-called Fast Radio
Bursts. So far, no one has been able to successfully explain what or who in the Universe is transmitting short bursts of radio energy across
the cosmos?
Rare, mysterious radio waves have baffled astronomers since the first time they were detected a decade ago. While no one can say for
certain what these mysterious signals are, there are some who believe the mystery bursts may be
a sign of advanced alien civilizations trying to contact us.
Artist’s impression shows three bright red flashes depicting fast radio bursts far beyond the Milky
Way, appearing in the constellations Puppis and
Hydra. Now, a team of astrophysicists have confirmed
that the mysterious Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs), which are intense bursts of radio energy that last
a few milliseconds, originate outside our planet.
According to the official website of Swinburne University of Technology (Melbourne, Australia),
which led the study, the signals may even come from beyond our galaxy. FRBs are basically radio emissions that appear
temporary and totally randomly which makes them extremely hard to find, and even harder to
study. There are several theories as to what they might be Some suggest they originate as stars collide,
while others have ventured out saying that they may be messages from our cosmic neighbors.
Professor Matthew Bailes from the Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne who
participated in the new research said: “Perhaps the most bizarre explanation for the FRBs is that
they were alien transmissions. ”
Manisha Caleb, an astrophysicist at the Australian National University (Canberra),
explained that “discovering where those bursts come from is the key to understanding what originates them. Only one of the FRBs has been linked to a specific galaxy.”
Using the Molonglo radio telescope, experts from the Australian National University have detected
three new FRBs. Precisely this telescope could help experts solve the mystery surrounding FRBs.
Because of the unique architecture of the Molonglo radio telescope, experts suggests it is an ideal tool to pinpoint FRBs thanks to its
gigantic focal length.
Dr. Chris Flynn from Swinburne University of Technology who also participated in the study
said: “Conventional single dish radio telescopes have difficulty establishing that transmissions
originate beyond the Earth’s atmosphere.” According to an article from Swinburne
University, the Molonglo telescope has a huge collecting area (18,000 square meters) and a
large field of view (eight square degrees on the sky), which makes it excellent for hunting for fast
radio bursts. Ms. Caleb’s project was to develop software to
sift through the 1000 TB of data produced each dayday. Her work paid off with the three new FRB
discoveries.
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