Mysterious Fast Radio Bursts Are Finally Coming into Focus

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December 02, 2021

Dear Reader, This week, we're commemorating a cosmic mystery. 2021 marks the 20th anniversary of the initial detection of fast radio bursts (FRBs), brief but extremely energetic eruptions of light from as-yet-unknown sources scattered throughout the observable universe. Our lead story details how far astrophysicists have come in two decades of FRB studies—and how far they still have to go to fully explain the phenomenon's enigmatic origins. Elsewhere, we have articles about the quest for "agnostic" biosignatures, NASA's mission to cancel an asteroid apocalypse, life's uncertain origins and more.

Lee Billings, Senior Editor, Space & Physics @LeeBillings

Astrophysics Mysterious Fast Radio Bursts Are Finally Coming into Focus Twenty years after their initial detection, enigmatic blasts from the sky are starting to deliver tentative answers, as well as plenty of science By Adam Mann

Extraterrestrial Life Life Is Complicated--Literally, Astrobiologists Say A new theory suggests that searches for molecular complexity could uncover convincing evidence of extraterrestrial life—and do so soon By Natalie Elliot

Particle Physics Elusive Neutrino Candidates Detected in Breakthrough Physics Experiment At long last, researchers have glimpsed ghostly particles produced by CERN's Large Hadron Collider By Chelsea Gohd,SPACE.com

Astronomy When Did Life Start in the Universe? Interstellar xenia, or the welcoming of cosmic strangers, could solve this mystery By Avi Loeb

Planetary Science NASA's DART Mission Could Help Cancel an Asteroid Apocalypse Our planet is vulnerable to thousands of "city-killer" space rocks. If—when—one is found on a collision course with Earth, will we be ready to deflect it? By Robin George Andrews

Quantum Physics Reprogrammable Eutelsat Quantum Satellite Shifts Missions on the Fly A new type of satellite opens mobile possibilities By Dhananjay Khadilkar

Engineering Top 10 Emerging Technologies for 2021 Innovations to help tackle societal challenges—especially climate change

FROM THE STORE Scientific American Volume 325, Issue 6

QUOTE OF THE DAY "Today, our nation and our world are more active in space than ever before. In this new era, we must see all the ways in which space can benefit Earth. We must see all the ways in which space can benefit the people of our nation and of all humanity. This perspective is central to our work as a council because, while exploration of space defined the 20th century, the opportunity of space must guide our work in the 21st." U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, in opening remarks for the Biden administration's first meeting of the National Space Council

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FROM THE ARCHIVE Flashes in the Night: The Mystery of Fast Radio Bursts Astronomers are racing to figure out what causes powerful bursts of radio light in the distant cosmos By Duncan Lorimer,Maura McLaughlin | April 2018

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