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The dishes of the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array are seen making thefirst-ever precision localization of a Fast Radio Burst, and therebypointing the way to the host galaxy of FRB121102. Credit: Danielle Futselaar (artsource.nl)

One of the rare and brief bursts of cosmic radio waves that have puzzled astronomers since they were first detected nearly 10 years ago has finally been tied to a source: an older dwarf galaxy more than 3 billion light years from Earth.

Fast radio bursts, which flash for just a few milliseconds, created a stir among astronomers because they seemed to be coming from outside our galaxy, which means they would have to be very powerful to be seen from Earth, and because none of those first observed were ever seen again.

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