5 min read<\/p>\n
Hubble Finds Weird Home of Farthest Fast Radio Burst<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n![\"Black](\"https:\/\/smd-cms.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/hubble-frb20220610a-stsci-01hk5hccqvnaf5pqrgma4nkn0g.png?w=2048\")
<\/figure>\nA NASA Hubble Space Telescope image of the host galaxy of an exceptionally powerful fast radio burst, FRB 20220610A. Hubble\u2019s sensitivity and sharpness reveals a compact group of multiple galaxies that may be in the process of merging. They existed when the universe was only 5 billion years old. FRB 20220610A was first detected on June 10, 2022, by the Australian Square Kilometer Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) radio telescope in Western Australia. The European Southern Observatory\u2019s Very Large Telescope in Chile confirmed that the FRB came from a distant place. <\/div>\nNASA, ESA, STScI, Alexa Gordon (Northwestern)<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nAstronomers using NASA\u2019s Hubble Space Telescope<\/a> have found a rare event in an oddball place.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s called a fast radio burst (FRB), a fleeting blast of energy that can \u2013 for a few milliseconds \u2013 outshine an entire galaxy. Hundreds of FRBs have been detected over the past few years. They pop off all over the sky like camera flashes at a stadium event, but the sources behind these intense bursts of radiation remain uncertain.<\/p>\n
This new FRB is particularly weird because it erupted halfway across the universe, making it the farthest and most powerful example detected to date.<\/p>\n
And if that\u2019s not strange enough, it just got weirder based on the follow-up Hubble observations made after its discovery. The FRB flashed in what seems like an unlikely place: a collection of galaxies that existed when the universe was only 5 billion years old. The large majority of previous FRBs have been found in isolated galaxies.<\/p>\n
FRB 20220610A was first detected on June 10, 2022, by the Australian Square Kilometer Array Pathfinder (ASKAP)<\/a> radio telescope in Western Australia. The European Southern Observatory\u2019s Very Large Telescope<\/a> in Chile confirmed that the FRB came from a distant place. The FRB was four times more energetic than closer FRBs.<\/p>\n\u201cIt required Hubble\u2019s keen sharpness and sensitivity to pinpoint exactly where the FRB came from,\u201d said lead author Alexa Gordon of Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. \u201cWithout Hubble\u2019s imaging, it would still remain a mystery as to whether this was originating from one monolithic galaxy or from some type of interacting system. It\u2019s these types of environments \u2013 these weird ones \u2013 that are driving us toward better understanding the mystery of FRBs.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hubble\u2019s crisp images suggest this FRB originated in an environment where there may be as many as seven galaxies on a possible path to merging, which would also be very significant, researchers say.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are ultimately trying to answer the questions: What causes them? What are their progenitors and what are their origins? The Hubble observations provide a spectacular view of the surprising types of environments that give rise to these mysterious events,\u201d said co-investigator Wen-fai Fong, also of Northwestern University.<\/p>\n
Though astronomers do not have a consensus on the possible mechanism behind this extraordinary phenomenon, it\u2019s generally thought that FRBs must involve some sort of compact object, like a black hole or neutron star. One extreme type of neutron star is called a magnetar \u2013 the most intensely magnetic type of neutron star in the universe. It has a magnetic field that is so strong that, if a magnetar were located halfway between Earth and the Moon, it would erase the magnetic strip on everyone\u2019s credit card in the world. Much worse yet, if an astronaut traveled within a few hundred miles of the magnetar, they would effectively be dissolved, because every atom in their body would be disrupted.<\/p>\n
Possible mechanisms involve some kind of jarring starquake, or alternatively, an explosion caused when a magnetar\u2019s twisting magnetic field lines snap and reconnect. A similar phenomenon happens on the Sun, causing solar flares, but a magnetar\u2019s field is a trillion times stronger than the Sun\u2019s magnetosphere. The snapping would generate an FRB\u2019s flash, or might make a shock wave that incinerates surrounding dust and heats gas into a plasma.<\/p>\n
There could be several flavors of magnetars. In one case, it could be an exploding object orbiting a black hole surrounded by a disk of material. Another alternative is a pair of orbiting neutron stars whose magnetospheres periodically interact, creating a cavity where eruptions can take place. It\u2019s estimated that magnetars are active for about 10,000 years before settling down, so they would be expected to be found where a firestorm of star birth is taking place. But this doesn\u2019t seem to be the case for all magnetars.<\/p>\n
In the near future, FRB experiments will increase their sensitivity, leading to an unprecedented rate in the number of FRBs detected at these distances. Hubble will play a crucial role in characterizing the environments in which these FRBs occur. Astronomers will soon learn just how special the environment of this FRB was.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe just need to keep finding more of these FRBs, both nearby and far away, and in all these different types of environments,\u201d said Gordon.<\/p>\n
The results are being presented at the 243rd meeting of the American Astronomical Society<\/a> in New Orleans, Louisiana.<\/p>\nThe Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation between NASA and ESA. NASA\u2019s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, manages the telescope. The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore, Maryland, conducts Hubble and Webb science operations. STScI is operated for NASA by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, in Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n
Media Contact<\/span>:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\nClaire Andreoli<\/em><\/strong>
NASA\u2019s\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>Goddard Space Flight Center<\/em><\/strong><\/a>,\u00a0Greenbelt, MD<\/em><\/strong>
claire.andreoli@nasa.gov<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\nRay Villard
Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, MD<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\nScience Contact<\/span>:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\nAlexa Gordon
Northwestern University, Evanston, IL<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\t<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\nShare<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/figure>Astronomers using NASA\u2019s Hubble Space Telescope<\/a> have found a rare event in an oddball place.<\/p>\n It\u2019s called a fast radio burst (FRB), a fleeting blast of energy that can \u2013 for a few milliseconds \u2013 outshine an entire galaxy. Hundreds of FRBs have been detected over the past few years. They pop off all over the sky like camera flashes at a stadium event, but the sources behind these intense bursts of radiation remain uncertain.<\/p>\n This new FRB is particularly weird because it erupted halfway across the universe, making it the farthest and most powerful example detected to date.<\/p>\n And if that\u2019s not strange enough, it just got weirder based on the follow-up Hubble observations made after its discovery. The FRB flashed in what seems like an unlikely place: a collection of galaxies that existed when the universe was only 5 billion years old. The large majority of previous FRBs have been found in isolated galaxies.<\/p>\n FRB 20220610A was first detected on June 10, 2022, by the Australian Square Kilometer Array Pathfinder (ASKAP)<\/a> radio telescope in Western Australia. The European Southern Observatory\u2019s Very Large Telescope<\/a> in Chile confirmed that the FRB came from a distant place. The FRB was four times more energetic than closer FRBs.<\/p>\n \u201cIt required Hubble\u2019s keen sharpness and sensitivity to pinpoint exactly where the FRB came from,\u201d said lead author Alexa Gordon of Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. \u201cWithout Hubble\u2019s imaging, it would still remain a mystery as to whether this was originating from one monolithic galaxy or from some type of interacting system. It\u2019s these types of environments \u2013 these weird ones \u2013 that are driving us toward better understanding the mystery of FRBs.\u201d<\/p>\n Hubble\u2019s crisp images suggest this FRB originated in an environment where there may be as many as seven galaxies on a possible path to merging, which would also be very significant, researchers say.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are ultimately trying to answer the questions: What causes them? What are their progenitors and what are their origins? The Hubble observations provide a spectacular view of the surprising types of environments that give rise to these mysterious events,\u201d said co-investigator Wen-fai Fong, also of Northwestern University.<\/p>\n Though astronomers do not have a consensus on the possible mechanism behind this extraordinary phenomenon, it\u2019s generally thought that FRBs must involve some sort of compact object, like a black hole or neutron star. One extreme type of neutron star is called a magnetar \u2013 the most intensely magnetic type of neutron star in the universe. It has a magnetic field that is so strong that, if a magnetar were located halfway between Earth and the Moon, it would erase the magnetic strip on everyone\u2019s credit card in the world. Much worse yet, if an astronaut traveled within a few hundred miles of the magnetar, they would effectively be dissolved, because every atom in their body would be disrupted.<\/p>\n Possible mechanisms involve some kind of jarring starquake, or alternatively, an explosion caused when a magnetar\u2019s twisting magnetic field lines snap and reconnect. A similar phenomenon happens on the Sun, causing solar flares, but a magnetar\u2019s field is a trillion times stronger than the Sun\u2019s magnetosphere. The snapping would generate an FRB\u2019s flash, or might make a shock wave that incinerates surrounding dust and heats gas into a plasma.<\/p>\n There could be several flavors of magnetars. In one case, it could be an exploding object orbiting a black hole surrounded by a disk of material. Another alternative is a pair of orbiting neutron stars whose magnetospheres periodically interact, creating a cavity where eruptions can take place. It\u2019s estimated that magnetars are active for about 10,000 years before settling down, so they would be expected to be found where a firestorm of star birth is taking place. But this doesn\u2019t seem to be the case for all magnetars.<\/p>\n In the near future, FRB experiments will increase their sensitivity, leading to an unprecedented rate in the number of FRBs detected at these distances. Hubble will play a crucial role in characterizing the environments in which these FRBs occur. Astronomers will soon learn just how special the environment of this FRB was.<\/p>\n \u201cWe just need to keep finding more of these FRBs, both nearby and far away, and in all these different types of environments,\u201d said Gordon.<\/p>\n The results are being presented at the 243rd meeting of the American Astronomical Society<\/a> in New Orleans, Louisiana.<\/p>\n The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation between NASA and ESA. NASA\u2019s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, manages the telescope. The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore, Maryland, conducts Hubble and Webb science operations. STScI is operated for NASA by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, in Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n Media Contact<\/span>:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Claire Andreoli<\/em><\/strong> Ray Villard Science Contact<\/span>:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Alexa Gordon
NASA\u2019s\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>Goddard Space Flight Center<\/em><\/strong><\/a>,\u00a0Greenbelt, MD<\/em><\/strong>
claire.andreoli@nasa.gov<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n
Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, MD<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n
Northwestern University, Evanston, IL<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\nShare<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n