Astronomy in the Blink of an Eye: Searching for the fastest events in the Universe

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Most things in the universe happen over millions or even billions of years but some things change on the timescales of human life and can be seen to change in a matter of months, days, or even seconds. These are some of the most extreme events in the universe, things like the collapse of a dying star, or a collision of two massive objects. Humans have been observing astronomical transients for centuries, from supernovae to gamma ray bursts and, most recently, gravitational waves. In 2007, we discovered a brand-new type of transient called fast radio bursts, bright radio pulses that last only a few milliseconds. Their origin is one of the newest unsolved mysteries of astronomy. I will tell the story of their discovery and some of the most exciting new breakthroughs.