A fast radio burst (FRB), a record-breaking burst of electromagnetic energy, has been associated with a group of seven merging galaxies.
This discovery may support the theory that the source of these mysterious explosions may be magnetars, which are exotic and highly magnetized neutron stars.
FRBs are intense and short, releasing as much energy in a fraction of a second as the sun releases in a month.
Although they were first observed in 2007, the origin of these strange events is still unknown.
But some astronomers, such as Alexa Gordon of Northwestern University, believe magnetars may be responsible for these cosmic explosions.
A detailed study using the Hubble Space Telescope examined the origins of FRB 20220610A, the most powerful and distant FRB detected to date.
Researchers discovered that it is the source of a field that is the same size as our Milky Way galaxy and contains seven galaxies 11 billion light-years away.
The expectation of finding a single large galaxy changed when the team encountered this dense group of galaxies.
Described as “astonishing” by astronomer Wen-fai Fong, this unusual image contradicted the idea of a lone host.
Previous FRB origins included isolated galaxies and star clusters, but this was the first time an FRB was associated with seven colliding galaxies.
The chaotic nature of such a galaxy community could facilitate the exchange of matter and lead to the formation of new stars and subsequently magnetars.
To confirm the magnetar hypothesis, the team hopes to examine this galaxy collection more closely with the James Webb Space Telescope, looking for definitive evidence of a magnetar.
