A groundbreaking discovery has rocked the astronomical community: a mysterious and powerful burst of radio waves has reached Earth after travelling through space for an astonishing 8 billion years. Dubbed FRB 20220610A, this signal is one of the most distant and energetic ever observed, Earth.com  reported. 

Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are brief, intense flashes of radio waves that continue to baffle scientists. Their origins remain a cosmic mystery, with theories ranging from neutron stars to exotic celestial objects.

The detection of FRB 20220610A offers a unique opportunity to study the universe's distant past. The signal's immense distance suggests it originated in a galaxy far beyond our own, providing a glimpse into processes and events that are otherwise beyond our reach.

Dr. Stuart Ryder, an astronomer at Macquarie University, is leading a team of scientists investigating this cosmic enigma. Through advanced research techniques, they hope to uncover the source of FRBs and gain valuable insights into the universe's fundamental processes.

The full study was published in the journal Science.

What Are Fast Radio Bursts?

Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are brief, intense pulses of radio waves that last only milliseconds. Since their discovery in 2007, FRBs have captivated scientists worldwide due to their mysterious nature.

For example, a recent FRB released as much energy in a fraction of a second as ours sun-generated over 30 years.

Scientists believe these powerful bursts may be linked to magnetars, the highly energetic remnants of supernova explosions.

To detect and trace the origin of this particular FRB, astronomers used the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP). "ASKAP's radio dishes allowed us to accurately pinpoint where the burst originated," explained Dr. Ryder.

The investigation didn't stop there. Using the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope, the team identified the source galaxy, which turned out to be older and farther away than any previously recorded FRB source.

Believe it or not, these fleeting cosmic bursts could help us "weigh" the universe. There's a gap between the normal matter we can observe and the amount that cosmologists believe should exist. Could the missing matter be beyond our visible range?

"More than half of the normal matter that should exist today is unaccounted for," says Professor Ryan Shannon. He suggests that this "missing" matter might be lurking in the vast, hot, and diffuse regions between galaxies, making it difficult to detect with conventional methods.

This is where FRBs come into play. Their ability to "sense" ionized material in near space enables scientists to measure matter located between galaxies. In 2020, Australian astronomer Jean-Pierre Macquart developed a method, now called the Macquart relation, that uses FRBs to trace this hidden matter.

"This detection confirms the Macquart relation, even for bursts that occur halfway across the universe," adds Dr Ryder.

The Missing Matter Puzzle

The universe is vast and still holds many mysteries, particularly the mismatch between observed and theoretical matter. The discovery of FRBs and their capability to trace hidden matter offers a promising tool for solving this cosmic puzzle. As Professor Shannon explains, FRBs can detect electrons even in nearly empty space, allowing us to measure the elusive matter scattered throughout the cosmos.