The Lorimer Burst
A five-millisecond flash of radio waves from far beyond our galaxy turned up in old data and started a new field of astronomy.
What was reported
In 2007 the astronomer Duncan Lorimer and his student David Narkevic were searching archived data from the Parkes radio telescope when they found a single, intense burst of radio waves lasting about five milliseconds, recorded on 24 July 2001.
The way the signal was smeared across frequencies showed it had travelled through a vast amount of space, suggesting it came from billions of light years away. It never repeated, and for years some astronomers suspected it was a local glitch.
Explanations offered
Many more of these fast radio bursts have since been found, some of them repeating, so they're now accepted as real cosmic signals. At least some come from magnetars, highly magnetised neutron stars, but what causes most of them is still being worked out. The idea that they're alien transmissions has little support.
- When
- 24 July 2001
- Where
- Parkes Observatory, New South Wales, Australia
- Witnesses
- Duncan Lorimer and his student, going through old data
- Status
- Partly explained
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.