Scientists baffled by clusters of strange radio bursts from space

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Paris (AFP) - Mysterious and powerful radio waves from deep space are coming in clusters, scientists revealed on Wednesday, having only discovered their existence a decade ago.

The repeated pulses emanate from well beyond the edge of the Milky Way Galaxy, according to a study published in the journal Nature.

It was previously thought that these so-called fast radio bursts (FRBs) -- which can emit as much energy in a millisecond as the Sun emits in 10,000 years -- were one-off phenomena.

Less than 20 have been detected since 2007, though more than 10,000 are suspected to occur every day.

Their origins remain unknown. Up to now, astronomers speculated that they were produced by cataclysmic events such as stars exploding into a supernovas, or neutron stars collapsing into black holes.

But none of these scenarios are consistent with multiple pulses, leaving scientists at a loss as to how to interpret the new data.

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