SETI discovers mysterious new signal: The strange mystery of fast radio bursts is solved

 SETI discovers mysterious new signal: The strange mystery of fast radio bursts has been solved

December 17, 2023

SETI Institute researchers have made a major breakthrough with the discovery of a new type of fast radio burst (FRB) that could help solve the mystery of these puzzling cosmic events

FRBs are short, intense bursts of radio waves that last only a few milliseconds. They were first discovered in 2007, and astronomers have discovered hundreds of them since. The origin of fast radio bursts remains unknown, but scientists believe they are caused by catastrophic events, such as the collapse of a neutron star or the merger of two neutron stars

The new FRB, designated FRB 20230110, was discovered by the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME). It is unlike any other fast radio burst observed before. For one thing, it's longer, lasting about three seconds. Secondly, it has greater power and the peak flow rate is about 100 times that of ordinary FRB

The long duration and high power of FRB 20230110 suggests that it was caused by a different type of event than ordinary FRBs. One possibility is that it was caused by the collapse of a supermassive star, which would create a larger explosion than the collapse of a neutron star.

Another possibility is that FRB 20230110 is caused by a new astrophysical phenomenon that has not yet been observed. If so, it could lead to a major breakthrough in our understanding of the universe.

The discovery of FRB 20230110 is an important step in the search for the origin of FRBs. This suggests that there may be more than one type of fast radio burst and could lead to the discovery of new, unexpected astrophysical phenomena.