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Astronomers detect 'heartbeat' radio billions of light years from Earth

Astronomers at MIT and elsewhere have detected a strange and persistent radio signal from a distant galaxy that appears to flicker with surprising regularity. The signal is classified as a rapid radio burst, or FRB — a very powerful burst of radio waves of unknown astrophysical origin, which usually lasts a few milliseconds at most. However, this new signal lasted up to three seconds, about 1,000 times longer than the FRB average. Within this window, the team detected bursts of radio waves that repeated every 0.2 seconds in a clear periodic pattern, similar to a heartbeat. The researchers have labeled the signal FRB 20191221A, and it is currently the most durable FRB, with the clearest periodic pattern, detected to date. The source of the signal lies in a distant galaxy, a few billion light years from Earth. Exactly what the source is remains a mystery, although astronomers suspect the signal could be from a radio pulsar or a magnetar, both types of neutron stars – the cores of gian

Astronomers detect radio "heartbeat" billions of light years from Earth

Astronomers at MIT and universities in Canada and the United States have detected a strange and persistent radio signal from a distant galaxy that seems to flicker with surprising regularity. The signal is classified as a rapid radio burst, or FRB — a very powerful burst of radio waves of unknown astrophysical origin, which usually lasts a few milliseconds at most. However, this new signal lasted up to three seconds, about 1,000 times longer than the FRB average. Within this window, the team detected bursts of radio waves that repeated every 0.2 seconds in a clear periodic pattern, similar to a heartbeat. The researchers have labeled the signal FRB 20191221A, and it is currently the most durable FRB, with the clearest periodic pattern, detected to date. The source of the signal lies in a distant galaxy, a few billion light years from Earth. Exactly what the source is remains a mystery, although astronomers suspect the signal could be from a radio pulsar or a magnetar, both types of

Rapid bursts of radio waves from millions to billions of light-years away can be used as probes to study the halos of hazy gases that are hard to see.

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Rapid bursts of radio waves from millions to billions of light-years away can be used as probes to study the halos of the hard-to-see hazy gas that surrounds closer galaxies. These pulses, known as fast radio bursts (FRBs), slow down as they transit through the gas shrouding the galaxy between their source and Earth. This has the added consequence of their radio frequency scattering. Using this to investigate the galaxy’s gaseous halo, researchers from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) found twice as much matter as previously believed in the envelope surrounding the galaxy. This has implications for how this collection of stars and planets evolves over long periods of time. Astronomers looked at a sample of 474 distant FRBs with the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME) which confirmed that the 24 FRBs intercepted by the galactic halo did indeed slow down compared to the others that traveled to Earth unimpeded. Thus, this effect can be used to investi

Sunrise host swipes Kardashians for making billions from 'nothing'

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The Sunrise hosts didn’t hold back on Thursday when they blasted the Kardashians during a breakfast show. Natalie Barr, Monique Wright, Mark Beretta and Michael Usher claim the famous family has made billions of dollars from ‘nothing’. Barr, 54, said he was surprised that Kim Kardashian’s successful Skims clothing line was now available at upscale Australian department store David Jones. The Sunrise hosts didn’t hold back on Thursday when they slammed the Kardashians during a breakfast show “It’s amazing they’ve made billions of dollars,” Natalie began. ‘And they created it out of nothing didn’t they?’ Mark interrupted. “Well, something,” Natalie joked, apparently referring to Kim’s sex tape with Ray J that leaked and catapulted her to fame. Natalie Barr, 54, said she was surprised that Kim Kardashian’s successful Skims clothing line was now available at upscale Australian department store David Jones. “My six year old said the same thing and said how did they get so rich