Fast Radio Bursts are an incredibly unusual phenomenon that has fascinated and baffled scientists since they were first picked up in 2007. A decade on, there is still a fierce debate raging as to what could be causing these abrupt bursts of radio waves from distant portions of the galaxy. Some have suggested that they are extra-terrestrial in origin, whereas others have suggested that they are more likely to be produced by extragalactic neutron stars. One theory is that Fast Radio Bursts do not come from outer space at all but are instead causing by atmospheric phenomenon on Earth which has tricked astronomers into thinking that they are being generated far away. However, this theory has recently been quashed by an interesting development in this ongoing mystery. Scientists Get Closer to Understanding Fast Radio Bursts
A little over twenty Fast Radio Bursts have been detected since 2007, but a team from the Australian National University in conjunction with the Swinburne University of Technology have had a run of good luck when it comes to detecting this enigmatic phenomenon. In the past six months, they have managed to detect three Fast Radio Bursts using the interferometry capabilities of the Molonglo Observatory Synthesis Telescope (MOST) in Canberra, Australia. Furthermore, according to Manisha Caleb who worked on the study, they were able to do what no one has been able to do before and have precisely located the origin of one of the radio bursts to a specific galaxy. Caleb writes that she and her team hope that further bursts will come from this specific galaxy in the future as this will allow them to use MOST to attempt to zoom in on the precise source of the Fast Radio Bursts. Frustratingly for the team, there have been no repeat Fast Radio Bursts from the precise area they pin-pointed yet. However, they are still hopeful that this represents the best chance for the scientific community to finally get to the bottom of what is causing this fascinating and contentious phenomenon.
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