Radio burst puzzles astronomers

The Parkes radio telescope in Australia picked up a single, quick blast of radio waves that contained as much energy in its mere 5-millisecond duration as the sun puts out in a month. The signal was by far the strongest short signal radio astronomers have ever observed, and no previously-detected cosmic radio burst has the same set of frequency characteristics. After analysis, it was estimated that the radio burst came from 3-billion light-years away.

Astronomers know of only two possible sources of the burst: either the merger of two neutron stars or the final gasp of a dying black hole. Whatever the source, "it's bound to be exciting," says radio astronomer Lawrence Rudnick of the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis. The source is likely to "push us into exciting new realms of physics." Astronomers are searching archives for similar phenomena. Meanwhile, we'll stay tuned for more. link