In April 2012, scientists of the National Astronomy Observatory of China discovered a mysterious radio wave that emerged from a source in space and repeated every 157 days. It was an intriguing discovery as only two such repeating radio bursts are identified so far. However, in mid-March, these waves disappeared.

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In a recent statement, the Chinese astronomers claim that they detected the repeating bursts yet again. Known as FRB 121102, astronomers hope that studying the strange signals could unlock the secret to what FRBs are and where they come from.

So far, 100 such FRBs have been discovered, however, only two have a predictable, repeating pattern. Its origins were traced back to a star-forming region in a dwarf galaxy, a billion light-years away, by British astronomers.

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During its cycle, bursts of milliseconds-long signals are emitted for 90 days before a quiet period lasting 67 days, for a total loop length of 157 days. The cycle of the wave is expected to end between August 31 and September 9, 2020.

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The scientists had detected 12 bursts from FRB 121102 on August 12. They scanned the waves using the 500-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST) – the world’s largest telescope – in southwest China.