Chinese astronomers have detected a radio signal coming from a galaxy believed to be nearly 3 billion light-years away. Read to know more.
What are fast radio bursts(FRBs)?
As per reports, scientists in China detected an active fast radio burst (FRB) which could be an alien message. China’s Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST) detected this FRB.
State-run Global Times reported that the new FRB, called FRB190520B was detected in a dwarf galaxy.
Fast radio bursts are short flashes of radio frequency, lasting for not more than a few milliseconds. The mysterious frequency was earlier detected in Guizhou, China in 2019.
Another FRB known as FRB121102A was detected by the US Arecibo Radio Telescope in 2016.
While their origins are unclear, reports are suggesting it as a sign of alien life. According to a report by the Global Times, only five percent of hundreds of FRBs are considered active. However, they state FRB190520B, the most recently discovered ‘alien message’ is persistently active.
What is the new FRB: FRB190520B?
The new FRB shows “reliable bursting behaviors” and has the “highest ambient electron density”. According to the reports, “four bursts” were recorded in the first 24 seconds. While indicating the “evolutionary” pattern of the FRBs, experts in China categorized FRB190520B as a “newborn”.
Niu Chenhui is behind the initial discovery of the FRB. Niu is a research fellow at the National Astronomical Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (NAOC). However, in July 2020, Law Casey, a scientist from the California Institute of Technology located it. “We further postulate that FRB121102A and FRB190520B represent the initial stage of an evolving FRB population. A coherent picture of the origin and evolution of FRBs is likely to emerge in just a few years,” stated Li Di. Li is the leading literature of the study, published in Nature, on Wednesday.