Fast radio bursts are some of the most mysterious events known in astronomy, but they are slowly becoming better understood. Case in point: recent observations of a fast radio burst in the Milky Way reveals the powerhouse behind the blasts: a flaring magnetar.
In 2007 astronomers first detected strange bursts of intense radio energy, known as (as you might have guessed) fast radio bursts, or FRBs for short. Subsequent observations – so far we’ve spotted only a couple dozen of them – revealed that these FRBs were 1) insanely powerful, and 2) coming from basically everywhere.
Indeed, the fact that they were coming from basically everywhere is the reason that astronomers figured that they were insanely powerful. In order to be detectable at extra-galactic distances, whatever is causing FRBs must be some of the most powerful explosions in the universe.
Additionally, to be that powerful in the radio end of the spectrum, there have to be magnetic fields involved. With strong enough magnetic fields, charged particles can wind themselves around in corkscrew paths, generating radio emissions.
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