Astronomers have made a surprising discovery: a fast radio burst (FRB) originating from a galaxy that has ceased forming new stars.
FRBs are brief, intense radio waves that last only milliseconds. These bursts are usually thought to come from young, dynamic environments where stars are forming.
However, the burst, identified as FRB 20240209A, was detected in February 2024 from a galaxy that has stopped creating new stars, ARS Technica reported.
Located about 11.3 billion light-years away, this galaxy has long been inactive, making it an unexpected source for such an energetic event.
This discovery, published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters in January 2025, challenges current understanding of FRBs, which are typically linked to galaxies actively producing stars.
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