25 mysterious sources continuously transmitting radio signals to Earth discovered

Twenty-five mysterious sources emitting extremely powerful, repeating so-called "radio bursts" have been identified by Canadian scientists .

Fast radio bursts (FRBs) remain one of the most mysterious types of signals. A few originate within the Milky Way, while the majority come from far-flung sources in deep space.

They are powerful, sometimes enough to light up the galaxy they originate from, but what they are remains a mystery. There are theories about neutron "zombie star" collisions , monster black hole mergers , and even theories about alien civilizations .

A map showing radio bursts that have been detected in the sky - (Photo: NRAO).

So capturing radio bursts, especially the rare, repeating signals that bombard Earth's observatories over and over again, is something scientists are always looking forward to. Because repeating signals provide more opportunities to determine their origin.

According to Space, a team of scientists from the Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME/FRB) Collaboration and the University of Toronto (Canada) identified 25 more radio bursts in the new study, all of which were repetitive.

This has doubled the total number of repeating radio bursts detected by terrestrial observatories to 50.

The researchers also said the two populations of radio bursts — single and recurring — appeared to have different characteristics, including their duration and the frequency range at which they were observed.

To find the "treasure" of 25 mysterious signals, scientists had to mobilize many radio astronomy observatories, with the main system being the CHIME telescope located at the Dominion Observatory (Canada), scanning the entire northern sky every day.

Data from the 25 new signal sources will be shared with the scientific community for further analysis and to find out the truth about them – what kind of cosmic monster is emitting them, or the rare chance of extraterrestrial friends.

The study was recently published in the scientific journal The Astrophysical Journal.