Calvin Leung, a postdoc at UC Berkeley, discovered a repeating Fast Radio Burst (FRB) in the constellation Ursa Minor by analyzing data from the CHIME instrument. This FRB's surprising location, on the outskirts of a long-dead galaxy, challenges the magnetar hypothesis and existing theories linking FRBs to star-forming galaxies. Improved data accuracy through additional telescopes has enhanced pinpointing of FRB sources and may pave the way for further insights into these cosmic phenomena, emphasizing CHIME's unique scanning capabilities.
"This result challenges existing theories that tie FRB origins to phenomena in star-forming galaxies," said co-author Vishwangi Shah, a graduate student at McGill University. "The source could be in a globular cluster, a dense region of old, dead stars."
Leung was able to combine data from several different telescopes to narrow down the likely position of a repeating FRB, first detected in February 2024.
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