1 00:00:07,880 --> 00:00:11,720 Enigmatic Radio Burst Illuminates a Galaxy’s Tranquil ​Halo 2 00:00:12,940 --> 00:00:19,880 ESO’s Very Large Telescope has clarified that a fast radio burst passed through a galactic halo 3 00:00:21,580 --> 00:00:27,260 A fast radio burst is a blast of radio waves that lasts less than a millisecond. 4 00:00:29,240 --> 00:00:35,120 It was first detected by the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP). 5 00:00:37,340 --> 00:00:43,960 Quick follow-up observations with the VLT revealed the precise path of the radio waves. 6 00:00:45,860 --> 00:00:51,920 They have passed through a galactic halo, the vast low-density gas that surrounds a galaxy. 7 00:00:54,820 --> 00:00:59,320 Astronomers expected that the galactic halo would distort the radio waves... 8 00:01:02,980 --> 00:01:08,380 …but the signal was virtually unaltered showing that this halo is surprisingly tranquil.