News Astronomy

Astronomers detect the brightest ever fast radio burst

No one knows what produces these flashes of radio waves

Illustration of a fast radio burst traveling from a galaxy in the constellation Ursa Major to a telescope array in North America.

An ultrabright fast radio burst (illustrated) came from 130 million light-years from Earth, within a galaxy in the constellation Ursa Major.

Danielle Futselaar

By McKenzie Prillaman

A powerful blast of energy detected in March marks the brightest fast radio burst — a mysterious type of outburst from space — observed to date.

This ultrabright flash originated 130 million light-years from Earth, closer than most fast radio bursts, or FRBs, with pinpointed locations, allowing an in-depth investigation into what produced the puzzling signal.