Updated

Astronomers detected the oldest known fast radio burst on October 23, 2026, originating from an ancient galaxy that existed just three billion years after the Big Bang 13.8 billion years ago. Fast radio bursts are strange flashes of radio waves from space, and researchers still remain uncertain about what produces them. The discovery of this ancient burst provides new data to help scientists learn more about the early universe and the processes that may have generated these mysterious signals in the cosmos's first billion years.