𝐅𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐑𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐨 𝐁𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐬 (𝐅𝐑𝐁𝐬), 𝐚 𝐅𝐚𝐬𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐎𝐛𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐒𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐞

 𝐓𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐜 - 𝐅𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐑𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐨 𝐁𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐬 (𝐅𝐑𝐁𝐬), 𝐚 𝐅𝐚𝐬𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐎𝐛𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐒𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐞

𝐀𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐥𝐞 𝐖𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐁𝐲 - 𝐒𝐞𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚 𝐃𝐞 𝐀𝐥𝐰𝐢𝐬

𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐲 - 𝐂𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐝𝐚

From what I have read about space so far, an interesting phenomenon I have encountered are the Fast Radio Bursts, abbreviated as FRBs. To put it simply, they are high energy radio pulses that reach Earth from an unknown source in the cosmos. Even though it is speculated to be emitted from a ridiculously large distance away from us, it is still strong enough to be detected by humans on Earth. They usually have an average frequency of about 1400 MHz, but much lower ones have been detected too. While continuing to read about this, I realized that we don’t have any actual explanation or source for these. It was first recorded in 2007 and recognized as a space phenomenon as late as 2013. This is an entirely new topic for modern astronomy.

The first FRB detected to come from inside the Milky Way happened only this November 2020, for most of the prior detected ones were extragalactic. However, as I read about the origins of this mysterious discovery, I found out that there were no proper conclusions.

First off, we can already rule off the fact that these do not originate from our Sun. What we do know about these FRBs is that they tend to originate from very powerful magnetic fields. Therefore, we can theorize that they could be emitted from Black Holes or neutron stars with powerful magnetic fields. However, since our knowledge of space is still pretty primitive, we cannot conclude with this. I believe there could be other things in space that generate powerful magnetic fields, so while this theory could be true, we cannot confirm it 100%.

The most accepted theory behind FRBs is a phenomenon called a Blitzer. The biggest problem with this theory, however, is that we don’t have proof that Blitzars exist. They’re a hypothetical neutron star which collapses into a black hole. But since the neutron star is spinning so heavily, it can overcome the gravity to create a pulsar. This pulsar’s magnetic field is hypothetically so strong that when it is cut off from the black hole when the spinning slows down, it immediately transforms into radio energy. Thus, fast radio bursts are formed and detected later by people on Earth. I sincerely hope we are able to discover proof for the existence of such a star, which would not only confirm the origin of FRBs, but also allow us to learn about black holes in a whole new way.

I also believe fast radio bursts could be useful in answering some of the never-ending questions we have of the universe. We might be able to determine the weight of the known universe itself, since it is possible to measure how much matter an FRB has encountered. They also hold the potential to be useful to us for figuring out a way to view a map of the cosmos, even to the edges of the known universe! If, one day, we discover their origins and possess the technology advanced enough to detect them all, we will be able to further our understanding of the universe by a ridiculously huge amount. This quite recent discovery that we still know nothing about hold a lot of secrets of the universe, and I eagerly await more news about them, as we advance our technology and knowledge.