A cosmic radio burst has been seen in real time for the first time in history, potentially revealing new information about these strange astronomical events.
Cosmic ray bursts are quick, short-lived blasts of radio waves, emanating from an unknown source. They last just a few thousandths of a second before quickly fading away. Astronomers from Carnegie Observatories, along with other researchers from around the globe, observed one of these mysterious events live.
Fast radio bursts have only been noted seven times in the past, with the first of these events recorded in 2007. However, these earlier episodes were each discovered while examining past data from radio telescopes at Arecibo and in eastern Australia.
"These bursts were generally discovered weeks or months or even more than a decade after they happened! We're the first to catch one in real time," Emily Petroff, a doctoral student at Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne, Australia, said.
Petroff first noticed the newest event, using the radio telescope at Parkes Observatory in Australia. A call immediately went out to other astronomers around the world, who began to observe the event in various wavelengths of light. The research team studied the position of the new burst, utilizing a network of 12 observatories, located on the Earth, as well as in space.
Short radio bursts were thought to originate from outside the galaxy, an idea based on signals from the events that appeared to be consistent with energy from the burst encountering free electrons.
Astronomers in the new study showed the energetic events took place about 5.5 billion light years from Earth - far beyond the Milky Way Galaxy. If this estimate of distance is confirmed, such a finding would indicate the event was exceptionally bright.
The team of researchers was able to show that several theories about the events were incorrect, including ideas that the bursts were caused by supernovae and exploding stars. Evidence was found for the presence of a powerful magnetic field in the region of space where the burst originated, potentially providing a clue to the formation of the phenomenon.
The research team believes searching for these events over a wide variety of wavelengths, using telescopes including the 250-inch Magellan Observatory in Chile, could help uncover the secrets of how these events are formed.
"As we continue to search for the source of fast radio bursts, Carnegie is well positioned to make big strides in the field. Quick access to big telescopes like Magellan may be the key to solving this mystery," John Mulchaey, acting director of Carnegie Observatories, stated in a press release.
A real-time fast radio burst: polarization detection and multi-wavelength follow-up, an article detailing the discovery, was published in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
