FRB signals with repeating cycles are the key to decoding one of the biggest mysteries since humans began studying space astronomy.
One of the biggest mysteries in the universe since humanity began to delve deeper into astronomy are “fast radio burst” signals (FRB). As the name suggests, these are radio waves emitted at extremely fast speeds, flaring up and then disappearing. The problem is that FRBs are not emitted periodically, so no one can trace their origin. That’s why there are theories that FRB is something produced by a certain civilization, although it cannot be verified.
But it seems this mystery is gradually being solved. Recently, astronomy experts have discovered 8 new FRB signals from deep in the universe, and they have a repeating cycle.
In early 2019, only FRB 121102 – one of the mysterious signals recently discovered – had a repeating cycle. But in January, science discovered another repeating signal, FRB 18081. And in new research published in The Astrophysical journal, a total of 8 signals were identified using the CHIME radio telescope of Canada.
The new report brings the total number of repeating FRB signals to 10. This number is enough for science to begin building a database of FRBs, and allow us to determine their true origin and identity. of them.
What is FRB?
FRB is a concept that causes a lot of confusion in science. They are signals in the high-frequency radio spectrum, lasting only a few milliseconds. But in that short time, they emit energy equal to 500 million times the Sun.
Most of the FRBs found so far have only appeared once, and are unpredictable, so there is no way to trace their origin. Therefore, finding repeating FRBs is extremely important, because it not only allows us to do the unthinkable above, but also helps determine their true identity. And science could even aim to compare the differences between FRBs.
“Certainly FRBs cannot come from the same source, and some appear to be different from the rest,” – quotes Ziggy Pleunis, a physicist from McGill University (Canada).
“We already know that FRB 121102 can emit signals in bursts: there can be no signal for hours, but the next hours they emit all at once for a short time. The same story is happening, and fully reported this time.”
In the report, 6 FRB signals only repeated once, and the longest pause was 20 hours. The 8th signal, FRB 181119, repeats 2 more times, appearing 3 times in total.
What do FRBs mean?
Unfortunately, experts are not yet able to determine the meaning of these signals, but they are helping to support a hypothesis put forth by Harvard University that all FRBs are in fact cyclical. Just some faster iterations.
“Just like volcanoes, some mountains are more active.” – Pleunis shared
There are also many similarities in frequency between FRBs. And identifying this similarity can be a clue to finding their origin. It’s even possible to track how far away the signals are from us, based on their period.
The question is, what creates FRBs? Could it be some undiscovered extremely powerful star, or could it be a signal transmitter from another civilization?
“I think this is important research to find out what creates FRBs.” – Pleunis concluded. And if it really is another civilization, then this is the first step to proving that humanity is not alone.
