11 Jun CHIME telescope yields unprecedented results (The Hindu, GS-3, Science and technology)
Context:- Scientists with the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME) Collaboration, who include researchers at the Punebased Tata Institute for Fundamental Research (TIFR) and therefore the National Centre for Radio Astrophysics (NCRA).
What is Fast radio burst (FRB):-
- FRBs are oddly bright flashes of sunshine which is registering within the radio band of the spectrum (EM waves), which blaze for a couple of milliseconds before vanishing without a trace.
- FRB origins are still unknown and their appearance is very unpredictable.
- The first FRB was discovered in 2007
What is a magnetar?
- As per NASA, a magnetar may be a star , “the crushed, city-size remains of a star repeatedly more massive than our Sun.”
- The magnetic flux of such a star is extremely powerful, which may be over 10 trillion times stronger than a refrigerator magnet.
Who are the participating in CHIME:-
- CANAD + TIFR +NCRA
Why are they significant?
- First noticed in 2018 by the Canadian observatory the waves have created ripples across the world for one reason — they arrive during a pattern.
- This gave birth to theories that they might be from an alien civilization.
- Initially, it had been believed that the collision of black holes or neutron stars triggers them.
But the invention of repeating FRBs debunked the idea of colliding objects.
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