Fast radio burst seen in real time

New Scientist : The first fast radio burst (FRB) was detected in 2007, and eight more have been seen since then. However, all were found after the fact in recorded data. Now, using the Parkes Telescope in New South Wales, Emily Petroff of Swinburne University in Melbourne, Australia, and her colleagues have seen one occurring in real time. FRBs are massive radio pulses that last just a millisecond but release as much radio energy as the Sun does in an entire day. The source of these events is still unknown, but it has been proposed that they could be caused by the collapse of oversized neutron stars or by flares from neutron stars with extremely strong magnetic fields. Within seven hours of the detection by Petroff’s team, other telescopes were pointing in the direction of the event. Because none detected any evidence of an afterglow, two possible sources—gamma-ray bursts and supernovae—have been ruled out.