Scientists discover mysterious outer space radio waves that repeat every 16 days

Something, somewhere, about a half-billion light-years away in space, is sending out mysterious radio signals that form a set pattern.

Fast radio bursts (FRB) are rare but not unheard of, according to CNN, but they normally are emitted once by whatever the source. When they do repeat, it’s in short bursts or clusters with no real pattern.

This latest discovery shows something out there emitting FRBs in a pattern that repeats every 16 days, according to researchers with the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment/Fast Radio Burst Project collaboration.

It’s the first time scientists have detected an outer space radio signal that repeats at regular intervals, according to USA Today.

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The research report, which has not yet been peer-reviewed, calls the discovery “an important clue to the nature of this object.” Researchers don’t know the source of FRBs but had theorized the waves could just be noise created by colliding stars. The repetitive nature of the newly discovered signals suggests that isn’t the case.

Scientists observed the signals once an hour for four days, followed by 12 days of silence, only for the pattern to start over again after that, according to phys.org.

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“The repeating pattern suggests the source could be a celestial body of some kind orbiting around a star or another body,” the website reported. “In such a scenario, the signals would cease when they are obstructed by the other body. But that still does not explain how a celestial body could be sending out such signals on a regular basis.”