For the first time, astronomers have traced a fast radio burst (FRB) to the outskirts of an ancient, dead, elliptical galaxy—an unprecedented home for a phenomenon previously associated with much younger galaxies.

Scientists led by Northwestern University and McGill University have traced a fast radio burst (FRB) to the edges of an ancient elliptical galaxy. Scientists had previously thought that these quick radio blasts,

Astronomers have observed over a thousand of them to date; some come from sources that repeatedly emit FRBs, while others seem to burst once and go silent. You can produce this sort of sudden surge of energy by destroying something.

Instead of finding the radio burst in a region of young stars, researchers traced its origin to the outskirts of a “dead” elliptical galaxy.