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Fast radio bursts could help solve the mystery of the universe’s expansion

There’s a new player in cosmology’s biggest debate

illustration of fast radio burst from magnetic star

Short-lived bursts of radio waves from deep space, possibly from eruptions on magnetic stars (one illustrated), are now being used to measure the expansion of the universe.

ESA

By Mara Johnson-Groh

Astronomers have been arguing about the rate of the universe’s expansion for nearly a century. A new independent method to measure that rate could help cast the deciding vote.

For the first time, astronomers calculated the Hubble constant — the rate at which the universe is expanding — from observations of cosmic flashes called fast radio bursts, or FRBs.