James Webb Telescope identifies most distant fast radio burst

Astronomers have identified the host galaxy of FRB 20240304B, the most distant fast radio burst (FRB) ever recorded. The signal, which traveled for over 10 billion years, originated when the universe was approximately 3 billion years old.

The discovery was made using the MeerKAT radio telescope in South Africa to detect the initial burst, followed by observations from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to pinpoint the source. JWST identified the host as a small, young dwarf galaxy characterized by intense star formation and low metal content.

This finding provides significant clues regarding the origins of FRBs. The characteristics of the host galaxy—specifically its youth and high star-formation rate—support the theory that these bursts are caused by magnetars, which are highly magnetized neutron stars. The research, published in the journal Science, marks a record-breaking distance that more than doubles previous observations.