For years, astronomers have been picking up strange bursts of energy from the cosmos — signals that last just milliseconds yet carry more power than the Sun releases in days. These puzzling flashes, known as fast radio bursts (FRBs), have become one of the greatest unsolved mysteries in astronomy.
What exactly are FRBs?
Fast radio bursts are ultra-bright pulses of radio waves that appear suddenly and then vanish. Some flare only once, while others repeat at irregular intervals.
The first FRB was detected in 2007 in archived telescope data from Australia. Since then, thousands more have been observed, but their origins remain elusive.
“It’s like someone is flicking a cosmic light switch on and off,” said Duncan Lorimer, the astrophysicist who first described the phenomenon. “But we don’t know who — or what — is behind it.”
Why are they so baffling?
Each FRB unleashes as much energy in a fraction of a second as 500 million Suns. “The sheer intensity is staggering,” noted Harvard astronomer Avi Loeb. “Whatever produces them must be among the most powerful engines in the universe.”
Pinpointing the origins is difficult. Some FRBs come from billions of light-years away, scattered across the universe. Theories include magnetars (super-magnetic neutron stars), collapsing stars, black holes colliding, and in the more speculative camp, even advanced alien technology.
While most bursts are one-offs, some repeat with odd rhythms. One discovered in 2020 emitted bursts every 16 days. “It’s like hearing a drumbeat from space,” said Kenzie Nimmo, an FRB researcher. “But the drummer is invisible.”
On their way to Earth, FRBs travel through cosmic gas, plasma and magnetic fields that bend and smear the signals. By the time they arrive, they’re so warped that tracing them back to their precise birthplace is almost impossible.
What do scientists know so far?
Why it matters
Solving the FRB mystery could open a new window into the universe. They could reveal the secrets of dark matter, measure how fast the universe is expanding, or uncover unknown forms of physics.
“Every time we think we’ve got it figured out, the universe throws us a curveball,” said Shami Chatterjee of Cornell University. “That’s what makes FRBs so exciting, they constantly defy expectations.”
The bottom line
Fast radio bursts are not proof of alien life, but they’re not fully explained by current science either. They sit in the tantalising gap between known physics and the unknown.
Whether they’re the work of collapsing stars, hyper-magnetised neutron stars, or something humanity has yet to imagine, FRBs remind us that the universe is still full of mysteries, and that sometimes, the cosmos whispers in bursts of static across the stars.
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The global recall of Airbus A320 aircraft has triggered widespread disruption across several major airlines, forcing flight cancellations in the United States, Japan, Australia and New Zealand.
U.S. investigators have recovered the black box recorders from the wreckage of a UPS cargo plane that crashed in flames on takeoff in Louisville, Kentucky. At least twelve people died. The crash sent a wall of fire into an industrial corridor and forced the shutdown of the airport.
Pope Leo visited Istanbul’s Blue Mosque on Saturday, stepping inside one of the most iconic sites of the Muslim world. He removed his shoes at the entrance in a gesture of respect. He did not appear to pray.
Russian drones and missiles struck several districts of Kyiv early on Saturday, killing one person and injuring more than a dozen. Fires swept through residential blocks as debris rained over the city.
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Hong Kong fire authorities said they expected to wrap up search and rescue operations on Friday after the city's worst fire in nearly 80 years tore through a massive apartment complex, killing at least 128 people, injuring 79 and leaving around 200 still missing.
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U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth visited sailors aboard the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier in the Latin American region on Thursday, amid a military buildup by President Donald Trump’s administration that has heightened tensions with Venezuela.
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The global recall of Airbus A320 aircraft has triggered widespread disruption across several major airlines, forcing flight cancellations in the United States, Japan, Australia and New Zealand.
Pope Leo visited Istanbul’s Blue Mosque on Saturday, stepping inside one of the most iconic sites of the Muslim world. He removed his shoes at the entrance in a gesture of respect. He did not appear to pray.
Russian drones and missiles struck several districts of Kyiv early on Saturday, killing one person and injuring more than a dozen. Fires swept through residential blocks as debris rained over the city.
Shoppers packed malls and downtown streets in Caracas on Black Friday (28 November) as retailers offered discounts despite Venezuela’s prolonged economic crisis. Customers queued in shoe and electronics stores and browsed signs advertising cuts of up to 50%.
The famed Nuremberg Christmas Market opened on Friday (28 November) with its traditional ceremony featuring the Nuremberg Christkind, an angel-like child figure said to deliver Christmas gifts in some European countries.
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