Fast Radio Bursts from a Spiral Galaxy Challenge Theorists
HONOLULU—Mysterious ultra-fast pinpricks of radio energy keep lighting up the night sky and nobody knows why. A newly discovered example of this transient phenomenon has been traced to its place of origin—a nearby spiral galaxy—but it’s only made things murkier for astronomers. The problem concerns a class of blink-and-you’ll-miss-them heavenly events known as fast radio bursts (FRBs)….