UPSC Articles
Largest collection of Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs) catalogue
Part of: GS Prelims and GS -III – Sci and Tech
In news
- Researchers from the Pune-based Tata Institute for Fundamental Research (TIFR) and the National Centre for Radio Astrophysics (NCRA), have assembled the largest collection of Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs) catalogue.
- The data is from Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME).
- In 2020, NASA spotted FRB for the first time in the Milky Way.
- The new catalogue expands the current library of known FRBs, and is already helping in understanding their properties.
About Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs)
- FRBs are bright bursts of radio waves whose durations lie in the millisecond-scale, because of which it is difficult to detect them and determine their position in the sky.
- It was first discovered in 2007.
- Their origins are unknown and their appearance is highly unpredictable.
About CHIME:
- It is a novel radio telescope that has no moving parts.
- It is optimized to have a high mapping speed.
- It is located at the Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory, Canada.
Significance of Studying FRBs
- These phenomena can be used to answer some long-standing questions about the universe.
- It can be used to understand the three–dimensional structure of matter in the universe
