Astronomers using the European VLBI Network (EVN) have precisely located a repeating fast radio burst, FRB 20190417A, confirming that it originates from a compact, persistent radio source. By combining signals from radio telescopes across Europe and beyond at JIVE, the team achieved milliarcsecond precision, directly linking the brief radio flashes to a constantly emitting source.
The discovery makes FRB 20190417A only the fourth known repeating FRB associated with a steady radio emitter and provides strong evidence that such bursts arise in extreme, highly magnetised environments, possibly involving very young magnetars. The findings mark an important step toward understanding the origins of fast radio bursts. Results are published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.
Read the full press release here.
Image: Artist’s impression of Fast Radio Bursts emitted by a distant source (copyright: Daniëlle Futselaar/ASTRON)