Fast radio burst tied to distant dwarf galaxy, and perhaps magnetar
Wednesday, January 4, 2017 - 14:31
in Astronomy & Space
Since first detected 10 years ago, fast radio bursts have puzzled astronomers. Unlike pulsars, they flash irregularly, most only once, and only for milliseconds. And they seem to come from outside the galaxy, meaning they are very energetic. A team of astronomers has now localized the only repeating burst, to a distant dwarf galaxy. The researcher who created the rapid data collection and analysis software sees a connection to magnetars.