Astronomers discover record-breaking ancient cosmic outburst

October 7, 2026 · 7:40 pm 4 sources

Image: The Guardian

Coverage

Wires & papers of record

• Astronomers detect mysterious burst of energy from a galaxy far, far away
  The Guardian · October 8, 2026 18:00
  Intense flash of radio waves is more than 10bn years old and has travelled through ‘approximately 80% of cosmic history’ A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, a mysterious flash of energy was released into the universe. Astronomers have now detected that flash, a burst of radio waves which…

Coverage

• Astronomers discover record-breaking ancient cosmic outburst
  Scientific American · October 8, 2026 18:30
  Detected by the MeerKAT array, this “fast radio burst” comes from 3 billion years after the Big Bang, and could help map the universe’s otherwise-invisible intergalactic matter

More coverage

• Radio galaxy from 12.5 billion years ago may be most powerful ever found
  Phys.org · October 7, 2026 19:40
  Astronomers have confirmed a powerful radio galaxy from nearly 12.5 billion years ago. The source, TXS 2354+015, was originally identified as a high-redshift candidate from its characteristic drop in optical light, and follow-up spectroscopy placed it at a redshift of 4.946. Their paper was posted…
• Astronomers pinpoint the most distant fast radio burst ever detected
  Phys.org · October 8, 2026 18:00
  Astronomers have detected and traced the most distant fast radio burst ever recorded, a powerful flash of radio waves that traveled for more than 10 billion years across the cosmos before reaching Earth.