The origin of the most powerful fast radio burst has been identified and it is surprising!

It flares up and then disappears literally within milliseconds. Those astronomers call fast radio bursts – or FRBs in English Fast radio blast – It remains among the most strange phenomena observed in our world. Explosions that generate more energy in one explosion than our sun generates in an entire year. Researchers are still struggling to determine its origins.

In the summer of 2022, they observed one of these fast radio bursts. But not just any one. Since then, it has been confirmed that FRB 20220610A is not only the most active, but also the farthest ever recorded. Then our universe seemed to be no more than 5 billion years old, but today it is almost three times older. Thanks to the images sent by the Hubble Space Telescope, astronomers from Northwestern University (United States) have added another exceptional feature.

A unique birthplace of fast radio broadcasting

To better understand the importance of this discovery, it is worth remembering that researchers have not yet been able to pinpoint the origin of more than a few fast radio bursts. Successfully identifying the remote location from which FRB 20220610A departed is an achievement in itself. But what's more, astronomers reveal that images show that this fast radio burst came to us from a very compact cluster of at least seven galaxies. A galactic environment characterized by a density that only a few exist in our universe.

Astronomers report at a meetingAmerican Astronomical Society In New Orleans (USA) member galaxies of this group appear to be interacting. They can exchange material. Or even be in the integration stage. All of this may lead to explosions in star formation. It is enough to associate FRB 20220610A with a group of fairly recent stars. Which, fortunately, coincides with what astronomers think about other fast radio bursts they've already studied.

There is no need for more rapid radio bursts to determine its true nature

Since the first observation of a fast radio burst in 2007, astronomers have recorded nearly a thousand bursts. Today they seem to agree that it must include compact objects, such as black holes or neutron stars. But they are still hesitant to confirm the mechanisms behind these events. To get there, they will have to keep discovering others. Thanks to increasingly sensitive technologies.

Understanding the true nature of fast radio bursts will not only satisfy the curiosity of astronomers. They hope this will also help them shed light on the true nature of our universe itself. Because when radio waves from fast radio bursts finally meet our telescopes, they may have traveled billions of years and interacted with a lot of matter along the way. Enough to inform researchers of everything they encounter, from dust clouds to interstellar space and galaxies.