Most Powerful Fast Radio Burst Ever Detected Hits Telescopes Across North America

For almost two decades, astronomers have detected extremely powerful, millisecond-long flashes of radio waves known as fast radio bursts (FRBs) from beyond our galaxy—and had no clue where they came from. Now, a team of scientists has detected the brightest-ever FRB and finally pinpointed its origin to a nearby galaxy.

Researchers have long suspected that FRBs are the result of highly energetic and violent events, like clashes between neutron stars. But even though they can generate more energy in a burst than our Sun emits in a year, they’re gone in less time than it takes to blink. Due to their transient nature, astronomers have been unable to locate exactly where they originated until now.

“We were detecting lots of FRBs, but only had crude information on where they were occurring in