{
  "id": 13729125,
  "title": "A Distant Planet Emitted a Burst of Radio Waves. Why?",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/11/a-distant-planet-emitted-a-burst-of-radio-waves-why",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-10-11T14:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Nautilus",
    "slug": "nautilus",
    "url": "https://nautil.us/a-distant-planet-emitted-a-burst-of-radio-waves-why-1285695/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "In 2024, astronomers detected a powerful burst of radio waves originating from a distant galaxy, dating back 10 billion years to when the universe was only one-fifth of its current age. The brief signal, known as FRB 20240304B, was detected by the MeerKAT radio telescope in South Africa using a system called MeerTRAP designed to identify transient radio signals. The signal's dispersion, or the difference in arrival times of different frequencies, helped determine the distance and time it took to reach Earth. Despite initial attempts to locate the host galaxy using ground-based telescopes, it was found to be too faint. However, the James Webb Space Telescope's infrared camera revealed a small, young galaxy, only 10 million times the mass of our Sun, which was home to the burst. This galaxy is still forming stars and is very different from larger galaxies where other fast radio bursts have been found. The discovery provides valuable insights into the universe's early stages, with this type of observation serving as a \"cosmic signpost\" to understand the distribution of matter and the evolution of galaxies over time.",
  "summary": "Astronomers pinpoint the origin of a 10 billion‑year‑old millisecond signal from space The post A Distant Planet Emitted a Burst of Radio Waves. Why? appeared first on Nautilus .",
  "key_points": [
    "Powerful radio burst detected in 2024 by MeerKAT telescope",
    "FRB 20240304B originated from galaxy 10 billion years ago",
    "James Webb Space Telescope identified small, young host galaxy"
  ],
  "editors_take": "Locating these signals in small, star-forming galaxies provides a new way to map the distribution of matter and study how the early universe evolved over billions of years.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}