US EditionMost Powerful Fast Radio Burst Ever Detected Hits Telescopes Across North America
The ultrabright fast radio burst RBFLOAT emitted more energy in milliseconds than the Sun does in four days, traced precisely to a star-forming region’s edge in galaxy NGC 4141.
- On March 16, 2025, the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment detected FRB 20250316A, nicknamed RBFLOAT, originating from the spiral galaxy NGC 4141 about 130 million light-years away.
- With the CHIME Outriggers now fully running, astronomers used continent-spanning triangulation across North America, enabling precise localization by automatically recording the March flash.
- Triangulation narrowed the source to a 45 light-year region with tens-of-milliarcseconds precision using Green Bank Outrigger, while RBFLOAT released more energy in milliseconds than the Sun emits in four days.
- Using JWST's infrared eye, researchers identified NIR-1 near the burst, likely a red giant or massive star, and proposed magnetar or collapsed star progenitors; findings published August 21 in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.
- Looking ahead, CHIME upgrades should localize hundreds of FRBs annually, enabling precise host studies and new cosmological insights, according to the Aug. 21 publications from the CHIME/FRB collaboration.
22 Articles
22 Articles
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Brightest Radio Flash Ever Detected Lights Up Nearby Galaxy
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Astronomers discover brightest ever fast radio burst: 'This marks the beginning of a new era'
Astronomers have spotted what could be the brightest Fast Radio Burst explosion of radiation ever, tracing it back to source and further investigating with the James Webb Space Telescope.
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