In radio astronomy perytons are short radio signals having a duration of a few milliseconds, detected only by the 64-meter Parkes radio telescope in Australia since 1998.[1][2] They are named after the Peryton, a mythical creature by Jorge Luis Borges.
Perytons were found to be the result of premature opening of a microwave oven door at the Parkes Observatory.
Outdated hypotheses
These signals mimic some aspects of fast radio bursts (FRB) that appear to be coming from outside the Milky Way galaxy,[3][4] but their astronomical origin was soon excluded.[5][6][7] Hypothesized potential sources of perytons included:[8][9]
- Signals from aircraft
- Flashes in the ionosphere
- Lightning
- Solar flares
- Terrestrial gamma-ray bursts
- Narrow bipolar pulse. (These are electrical discharges between clouds at high altitude with a capacity of several hundred gigawatts.)
Identification
In 2015, perytons were found to be the result of premature opening of microwave oven doors at the Parkes Observatory. The microwave oven releases a frequency-swept radio pulse that mimics an FRB as the magnetron turns off.
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