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Scientists Propose Using Fast Radio Bursts To Chart Universe In 3D

Posted by timothy on from the they're-using-active-sonar dept.

hypnosec writes: Using redshifts, fast radio bursts and state of the art technology, researchers at University of British Columbia have proposed a new method of calculating distance between celestial objects, and mapping the cosmos in 3D. Published in the journal Physical Review Letters, the research describes the proposal to use fast radio bursts to calculate cosmological distances. Though only 10 or so of these FRBs have been detected so far, UBC scientists are of the opinion that thousands of these FRBs must be happening each day.

4 of 27 comments (clear)

  1. Not tachyons? by KatchooNJ · · Score: 3, Funny

    What?! No love for my favorite sci-fi method of sending waves huge distances and through time? I refuse to be satisfied until my sci-fi fantasy is a reality!

    --
    "Never give up, for that is just the time and place when the tide will change." -Harriet Beecher Stowe ^_^
    1. Re:Not tachyons? by wonkey_monkey · · Score: 4, Funny

      I refuse to be satisfied until my sci-fi fantasy is a reality!

      Me too! But... you probably don't want to know what mine involves.

      --
      systemd is Roko's Basilisk.
  2. New General CATalogue by Impy+the+Impiuos+Imp · · Score: 2

    Go look into the math of CAT scanning -- with enough bursts at enough angles, you might be able to do something similar, for even greater mapping potential.

    You're welcome.

    --
    (-1: Post disagrees with my already-settled worldview) is not a valid mod option.
    1. Re:New General CATalogue by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      In CAT scanning, you measure the density along multiple *intersecting* sightlines through the target medium. In this case, all your sightlines are radial from the earth, and none of them intersect. It's more akin to a conventional x-ray than to a CAT scan: you only get to see the target from a single direction, unless you want to schlep your telescope a few million light-years away to get another angle.

      Ironically, some of the maths of CAT scanning - in particular, the convolution kernels used for gridding - came out of radio astronomy. But from interferometric imaging, which isn't the same branch of radio astronomy as in this article.