A new era in space: The brightest signal of all time has been discovered

Astronomers have discovered what may be the brightest radio signal ever observed, a fast radio burst (FRB), and have tracked the source of this extraordinary radiation.

This development could radically change theories about mysterious cosmic explosions like FRBs.

These explosions, which last only milliseconds, can release energy equivalent to the energy emitted by the Sun throughout its entire lifetime.

WHERE DO THE SIGNALS COME FROM?

First noticed in 2007, FRBs have long remained a mystery to scientists because they are short-lived and very few reoccur.

Among the strongest candidates for the source of the signals are neutron stars, known as magnetars, which have extraordinarily strong magnetic fields.

The last bright signal, detected by the CHIME radio telescope in Canada in March 2025, was named FRB 20250316A. The signal is also known as "RBFLOAT," short for the brightest radio burst of all time.

Source: NASA

130 MILLION LIGHT YEARS AWAY

The researchers were able to trace RBFLOAT's source to a region just 45 light-years across in the spiral arm at the edge of the galaxy NGC 4141.

This galaxy is about 130 million light-years from Earth. “This result is a breakthrough,” said Amanda Cook, a research leader from McGill University. “We can now see exactly where these mysterious flares are coming from. It opens the door to discovering whether they are caused by dying stars, exotic objects like magnetars, or something we haven’t even thought of yet.” CHIME’s sensitivity, thanks to new telescope extensions being built across North America, allowed this FRB to be traced back to its host galaxy.

Moreover, the James Webb Space Telescope also captured a faint infrared light source called NIR-1 from the same region.

NEUTRON STAR SUSPICION

Scientists think NIR-1 is most likely a red giant or a massive middle-aged star, but it seems unlikely that a single star could have caused such a powerful explosion.

According to the researchers, there is likely a neutron star near NIR-1, and this star may have triggered the powerful radio burst by drawing matter from its neighbor.