Blazing across the sky for mere milliseconds, fast radio bursts (FRBs) are among the newest and most puzzling astronomical phenomenon. They come from extreme distances and appear without any known rhyme or reason, making them almost impossible to study in detail.
But luckily, artificial intelligence is helping researchers learn about this mysterious occurrence. By using machine learning technology, a team of astronomers was able to study 72 new radio bursts blasting from FRB 121102 — the only FRB known to continually shoot out signals. Their findings, accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal, give insight into the radio waves’ periodicity and specific frequencies, but unfortunately leave us with more questions than answers.
FRBs are quick bursts of radio waves, each lasting for only a few milliseconds, coming from far outside the Milky Way. They first came onto the scene in 2007 when astronomy professor Duncan Lorimer, and his student David ...
