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There is a very powerful radio signal that is making rounds in our galaxy, and astronomers are stumped because this is the first Rapid Radio Burst (FRB) to originate from our own galaxy. And this happened as recently as April 28, when SGR 1935 + 2154, a dead star some 30,000 light-years away from Earth, was recorded at radio observatories around the world with a radio burst. Incredibly bright from a millisecond long wave. Astronomers say this radio signal is so powerful that it may also be detected in nearby galaxies..
Activity in SGR 1935 + 2154 was recorded by the Swift Burst Alert telescope, the AGILE satellite, and the NICER ISS payload. “The burst had a double peak structure with two components ~ 5 ms wide separated by ~ 30 ms (see URL below). The spectra of the two components show different limited band structures, which we note are not corrected for the telescope side lobe response or instrumental band pass. However, we do not expect the telescope’s spectral response to change significantly on a 30ms time scale (the separation of the two bursts), suggesting that the two peaks had different spectra. There is clear evidence of a scattered tail of similar magnitude at the two peaks, “the astronomer’s Telegram reported of his findings.
“Something like this has never been seen before,” Caltech astronomer Shrinivas Kulkarni told ScienceAlert. The consensus seems to be in the fact that this FRB signal may have originated as a result of massive and shifting gravitational forces that caused a stellar earthquake or magnetar flare, which caused a disturbance in the surrounding magnetic field. As the gravitational force tries to hold the star together, an internal force, the magnetic field is so powerful that it distorts the shape of the star. Kulkarni explains to ScienceAlert that this generates a constant tension between the two forces, occasionally producing huge earthquakes and flashes of giant magnetar. Astronomers believe that a magnetar can produce even larger explosions. The SGR 1935 + 2154 explosion did not require much energy, they say, for a magnetar and the star could easily handle an explosion a thousand times stronger.
At this time, astronomers are still looking at the source of this signal for any tracking signal, which could indicate increased activity in SGR 1935 + 2154.
