By connecting Westerbork and LOFAR, two of the biggest radio telescopes in the world, astronomers have discovered that a simple binary wind cannot cause the puzzling periodicity of a Fast Radio Burst after all. The bursts may come from a highly magnetized, isolated neutron star. The radio detections also show that Fast Radio Bursts, some of the most energetic events in the Universe, are free from shrouding material. That transparency further increases their importance for cosmology. The results appear in Nature this week.
For details read the ASTRON article Periodic Fast Radio Burst found bare, unobscured by strong binary wind.
Image: ©Joeri van Leeuwen