Astronomers have picked up the most distant fast radio burst ever recorded. The millisecond flash of radio energy traveled about 10 billion years through space to reach Earth. NASA's James Webb Space Telescope confirmed the distance and then traced the signal back to a small, young galaxy.

The find gives researchers a clearer picture of where these intense bursts come from. Fast radio bursts have stumped astronomers for years. This one sets a new distance record and suggests a likely origin for the broader category of signals.