YouTube video by AstronNL

YouTube video by AstronNL

YouTube video by AstronNL

An 11 billion year old signal.

We investigate analytically and numerically the interaction of strong electromagnetic waves with unmagnetized pair plasmas. We show that the interaction is governed by a single nonlinearity parameter,...

MIT astronomers pinned down the origins of at least one fast radio burst, a brief and brilliant explosion of radio waves emitted by an extremely compact object. The team’s novel technique might also r...

Highly magnetic neutron star is wandering our Milky Way galaxy. Astronomers using NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope have tracked a rare and fast-moving magnetar – called SGR 0501+4516 – as it speeds...

A research team led by McGill identifies neutron stars as the likely source of fast radio bursts, one of the universe’s most enigmatic phenomena. A team of international scientists, led by researchers...

Fast radio bursts originate near neutron stars, revealing their magnetically chaotic environments and scintillation patterns.

Astronomers say they have traced a mysterious pulsing in the Milky Way to a surprising source: a dead star locked in a dance with another star.

Rätselhafte Radioblitze: Astronomen haben erstmals einen Fast Radioburst bis in die Magnetosphäre eines Neutronensterns zurückverfolgt. Bislang war zwar klar, dass Magnetare der Ursprung energiereicher kosmischer Radioblitze sein können, aber nicht in welchem Abstand zum Neutronenstern sich die Ausbrüche ereignen. Nun liegt der erste Beweis dafür vor, dass die turbulente Magnetosphäre selbst Quelle der Radiopulse sein kann, wie das Team in „Nature“ berichtet.

In the silent darkness of deep space, something screamed. A radio signal of unimaginable power, lasting less than a blink of an eye. What was it? And is it a message? Welcome to the front lines of the universe's greatest mystery: Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs). For years, these impossibly strong, fleeting signals have baffled astronomers. Now, the game has changed. In March 2025, the CHIME telescope detected "RB float"—the brightest and most powerful FRB ever recorded. For the first time, technology allowed us to pinpoint its origin point with stunning precision: a lonely patch of sky near a star-forming nursery in the constellation Ursa Major. But this breakthrough has only deepened the enigma. The signal's location doesn't quite fit the leading theories. It's close to the action, but not in it, adding a new layer of complexity to the puzzle. In this podcast, we explore the wild possibilities for what could generate such power. Are we witnessing the birth of black holes or the cataclysmic collision of hyper-dense neutron stars? Or, as some scientists are quietly beginning to wonder, is this a calling card from an extraterrestrial intelligence far beyond our own? We'll break down the cutting-edge science, the competing theories, and the thrilling hunt for answers. This is the story of a cosmic enigma, a ghost in the machine of the universe that we are finally beginning to trace. Ready to join the hunt for the universe's most elusive signals? Subscribe now, become part of our cosmic detective agency, and share this with anyone who looks up at the stars and wonders.

The energy flare came from an old galaxy, upending prevailing theories about the source of fast radio bursts.

YouTube video by B.C. Begley