Brief
Astronomers spot most distant fast radio burst using MeerKAT and JWST
The burst, FRB 20240304B, travelled 80% of the universe’s age and offers a new probe of early cosmic matter.
By Felo News Desk · Published
Scientists have detected the most distant fast radio burst yet, a millisecond flash of radio waves that traveled more than 10 billion years before reaching Earth, according to the Guardian.
What happened
The burst, labelled FRB 20240304B, was captured by South Africa’s MeerKAT radio telescope on 4 March 2024. Follow‑up observations with NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope identified a faint, metal‑poor galaxy that existed when the universe was about three billion years old – roughly 80% of cosmic history.
What the reports add
The Guardian notes that the burst’s distance more than doubles the previous record and that it originated in a young, small galaxy forming stars at a very high rate. Researchers highlighted that the detection demonstrates how fast radio bursts can be used to map unseen matter in the early universe.
What was said
Dr Themiya Nanayakkara of the University of Sydney told the Guardian, “there was no Earth, there was no sun” when the burst occurred. He added that any mechanism behind FRBs must work in very young, low‑metallicity galaxies. Prof Matthew Bailes of Swinburne University called the paper “a validation of how powerful the FRBs are for probing the universe.”
How it came about
MeerKAT’s MeerTRAP system first caught the signal, and JWST’s NIRCam imaging later revealed the host galaxy, confirming its age and mass of about ten million solar masses. The discovery follows earlier Felo coverage of JWST identifying the same host galaxy (James Webb identifies host galaxy of 10‑billion‑year‑old fast radio burst).
Key facts
- FRB 20240304B was detected by MeerKAT on 4 March 2024 (theguardian.com)
- JWST identified the burst’s host galaxy as a metal‑poor, star‑forming galaxy existing 10.6 billion years ago (theguardian.com)
- The burst travelled about 80% of the age of the universe, setting a new distance record for FRBs (theguardian.com)
- Dr Themiya Nanayakkara said the burst occurred before Earth or the Sun existed (theguardian.com)
- Prof Matthew Bailes described the discovery as validation of FRBs as probes of the universe (theguardian.com)
Sources
- [1] theguardian.com — originally reported as “Astronomers detect mysterious burst of energy from a galaxy far, far away”
