A source of powerful radio signals from distant space has deepened the mystery of fast radio bursts.

Setting a record for the most activity exhibited by a fast radio burst source yet, the observations provide enough detail to perform a thorough search for periodicity – regular timespans between similar bursts.

Of those we can trace back to a source, most have origins in galaxies millions to billions of light-years away, but they're incredibly powerful; within those milliseconds, a fast radio burst can discharge as much power as hundreds of millions of Suns.

But a handful of fast radio burst sources have been detected repeating, and these could be one of the keys that helps at least partially solve the mystery.

The peak rate was 122 bursts over the course of one hour – the highest level of activity we've ever seen in a fast radio burst source.