Strange radio wave flashes from far outside of our Milky Way galaxy (or in it) have scientists completely confused. Since 2001, telescopes have been picking up on what are referred to as fast radio bursts (FRBs). Only a total of ten have ever been detected, with the most recent one occurring just a few months ago. The bursts last just a few milliseconds and then explode with just as much energy as our Sun releases in a month, which is extremely huge, and again, very confusing and mysterious.
The burst of 2014 was the first one in history that was caught in action by the Parkes Telescope in New South Wales, Australia. The others were found by examining data after the bursts had already arrived on Earth. Again, these bursts have astronomers very confused, as no one knows what causes them. What scientists do know is that their source most likely has to be small, because they occur in such a short span of time. They are also only approximately a few hundred kilometers across, so that rules out any stars as being the culprit.
It’s not only the fact that astronomers are completely clueless, but as a new scientist points out:
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