Cosy cosmic pair may cause radio repeat bursts

• Autores: Leah Crane
• Localización: New scientist, ISSN 0262-4079, Nº. 3161, 2018, pág. 12
• Idioma: inglés
• Texto completo no disponible (Saber más ...)
• Resumen

  • Two of the most extreme and mysterious objects in the universe might be getting cosy. And they're being flashy about it. The only repeating fast radio burst we have seen appears to be coming from a neutron star beside a huge black hole. Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are powerful radio signals that flare from distant space for milliseconds and disappear. Their source is unclear, and we've seen fewer than 30, but one is special: FRB 121102 keeps repeating. Jason Hessels at the Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy and his colleagues have taken detailed measurements of the light from FRB 121102 and found a twist that indicates the source of the bursts is a small, fast-rotating object within an extreme magnetic field--like the ones around supermassive black holes