Astronomers detect the most distant fast radio burst yet recorded

Astronomers have detected FRB 20240304B, a fast radio burst believed to be the most distant ever recorded. The signal travelled for more than 10 billion years before reaching Earth.

The burst originated when the universe was about 3 billion years old, covering approximately 80% of cosmic history. Researchers detected it with the MeerKAT radio telescope in South Africa.

The burst’s host galaxy

The source galaxy was later identified using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope. Its data showed a young, very small galaxy forming stars rapidly and containing relatively few metals.

The study was published in Science. Themiya Nanayakkara of the University of Sydney said that Earth and the Sun did not yet exist when the burst was produced.

What is known about FRBs

Fast radio bursts are intense pulses of radio waves that can emit as much energy in milliseconds as the Sun produces over months or years. More than 10,000 have been detected since their discovery in 2007.

Possible sources include magnetars, which are neutron stars with extremely powerful magnetic fields. It is not yet known whether FRB 20240304B was a one-off signal or will repeat.

Using signals to study unseen matter

FRBs are altered by particles along their path, allowing scientists to estimate the matter they passed through on the way to Earth. Astrophysicists Matthew Bailes and Sara Webb said distant bursts could help map unseen matter in the universe.

The discovery also suggests that FRBs may have been common in the early universe, although their physical cause remains unknown.