How the SKA will use fast radio bursts to decode the universe

There are parts of the universe that are extremely hard to see, even for our most advanced telescopes. Gas and dust don't emit light and are visible only by the light they block from stars and galaxies. Magnetic fields are even harder to detect because ordinary light typically passes right through them. However, according to a new paper available on the arXiv preprint server by Manisha Caleb of the University of Sydney and their co-authors, a potentially game-changing new tool being commissioned could use a particularly violent astronomical phenomenon to provide new insight into these hard-to-see places.