Bevy of Mysterious Fast Radio Bursts Spotted by Canadian Telescope

scientificamerican ^ | January 8, 2019 | Alexandra Witze, Nature magazine

[BenLurkin]

First spotted in 2007, FRBs are one of the most intriguing mysteries in astrophysics. They appear all over the sky, and astronomers aren’t sure what causes them.

n early testing during July and August, before it began full operations, CHIME spotted 13 FRBs. Prior to this, astronomers had between 50 and 60 examples.

The more FRBs that astronomers find, the greater the chance they can start to pin down their origin.

CHIME also detected only the second known FRB that repeats, meaning that the radio flashes re-appear at the same point in the sky. It saw the repeater pop up at least five separate times, the first on 14 August...

The only other known repeating FRB is one that first appeared in 2012. It seems to originate in a galaxy some 2.5 billion light-years from Earth. Finding a second repeater confirms that the first was not some kind of freak event.

CHIME has also detected the lowest-frequency FRB known so far, Good said. It appeared at wavelengths of 400 megahertz, breaking the previous record of 700 megahertz. Previous hunts with other telescopes had not found any FRBs at these lower wavelengths.

CHIME observatory is located outside Penticton, British Columbia. It consists of four 100-metre-long, semi-cylindrical antennas that look like a half-pipe for snowboarding. The facility operates around the clock and scans the entire northern sky each day—giving it an excellent shot at catching transient FRBs.

[hinckley buzzard]

Hmm. Originating in a galaxy far, far away...

[Don Corleone]

Ask Meg Ryan

[UCANSEE2]

FRB ?

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks BenLurkin.

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[Ezekiel]

You winz the internet today!

[BenLurkin]

[Deaf Smith]

Flash Messages.

Will have to wait for what comes next and when.

[Army Air Corps]

Flash Traffic
Flash Traffic...

[Peter ODonnell]

“Want me to pick up karn on my way home from R790B?”

[Army Air Corps]

Ping.

[heights]

Galaxy Teenage girls Texting each other.

[dragnet2]

400 megahertz? Same part of the spectrum used by public service and amateur radio operators here on this planet.

[Celtic Conservative]

At that distance if it was intelligent life they are long gone now.

CC

[PghBaldy]

“Contact” First Signal Scene

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4iNWKfE-0k