Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are notoriously difficult to study. They are flashes of radio light that can outshine a galaxy but often last for only a fraction of a second. For years, all we could do was observe them by random chance and wonder about their origins.

Astronomers have detected thousands of these bursts, but how they are born has been a hotly debated topic. Some theories suggest they originate from powerful shockwaves, while oth

Astronomers finally discovered the origin of fast radio bursts (FRBs)–mysterious and powerful bursts from outer space first seen in 2007.

Fast radio bursts are brief and brilliant explosions of radio waves emitted by extremely compact objects such as neutron stars and possibly black holes. These fleeting fireworks last for just a thousandth of a second and can carry an enormous amount of energy—enough to briefly outshine entire galaxies.

Learn how researchers have interpreted the story of one particular fast radio burst that emerged from a neutron star 200 million light-years away.

Scientists from an international team have used data from the German-British GEO600 detector to study a nearby neutron star that has emitted several radio bursts. The researchers analyzed the data to learn more about the origin of these extreme events and their theoretical description.

Innew research, we have for the first time tracked a fast radio burst back to its source: a common kind of lightweight star called a red dwarf.