GMRT AND FAST RADIO BURSTS
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Context:
- Astronomers of National Centre of Radio Astrophysics (NCRA-TIFR) in Pune and the University of California in the U.S. have used the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) to map the distribution of atomic hydrogen gas from the host galaxy of a fast radio burst (FRB) for the first time.
GMRT:
- About: The Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT), is an array of thirty fully steerable parabolic radio telescopes of 45 metre diameter, observing at metre wavelengths.
- Location: It is located about 80 km north of Pune at Khodad.
- Aim: To determine the epoch of galaxy formation in the universe.
- Usage: Astronomers from all over the world regularly use this telescope to observe many different astronomical objects such as HII regions, galaxies, pulsars, supernovae, and Sun and solar winds.
- Recent finding: In February 2020, it helped in the observation of the biggest explosion in the history of the universe, the Ophiuchus Supercluster explosion.
Fast radio bursts:
- About: Fast radio bursts are extremely bright radio pulses from distant galaxies that last for only a few milliseconds.
- Detection: They were first detected fifteen years ago and over a thousand have been found so far, researchers still don't know what kind of astronomical objects can produce so much energy in so little time.
Recent Research:
- The GMRT results indicate the FRB host galaxy has undergone a recent merger and that the FRB progenitor is most likely a massive star formed due to this merger event.
- This is the first case of direct evidence for a recent merger in an FRB host, a major step towards understanding the progenitors (ancestor) of FRBs.
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