For the first time, astronomers have traced a fast radio burst (FRB) to the outskirts of an ancient, dead, elliptical galaxy—an unprecedented home for a phenomenon previously associated with much younger galaxies.

Astronomers have observed over a thousand of them to date; some come from sources that repeatedly emit FRBs, while others seem to burst once and go silent. You can produce this sort of sudden surge of energy by destroying something.

Astronomers have traced a mysterious fast radio burst to an unexpected place — an ancient, massive galaxy far removed from active star formation. This revelation shakes up the conventional wisdom that such cosmic phenomena exclusively arise from younger,