Astronomers have detected the most distant fast radio burst, produced in a young galaxy more than 10 billion years ago

Astronomers have detected the most distant fast radio burst (FRB) observed to date. The signal, named FRB 20240304B, traveled more than 10 billion years through the Universe before reaching Earth, crossing approximately 80% of cosmic history.

The burst was identified with the MeerKAT radio telescope in South Africa. According to the study published in the journal Science, it occurred when the Universe was approximately three billion years old. At that time, Earth and the Sun did not yet exist.

The new record more than doubles the previous distance established for such a burst. FRBs are extremely intense pulses of radio waves that can release, in a few milliseconds, an amount of energy comparable to that emitted by the Sun over months or even years. The phenomenon was first discovered in 2007, but its origin remains unknown.

Observations made with the James Webb Space Telescope indicated that the signal originated in a very young, small galaxy where stars are forming at an accelerated rate and few heavy elements exist—elements known as metals in astronomy.

One of the leading hypotheses is that FRBs are produced by magnetars, neutron stars with extreme magnetic fields. Researchers say that any explanation for this phenomenon must take into account that the bursts can also occur in young, metal-poor galaxies.