ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Rotating radio transient

Okay, so imagine you have a big bowl of spaghetti, and you're trying to find a particular piece of spaghetti. You stick a fork in the bowl and start twirling it around, hoping that the spaghetti will eventually wrap around the fork and you'll be able to grab it.

In space, there's something called a rotating radio transient (or RRAT for short) that's kind of like that piece of spaghetti. It's a radio signal that spins around really fast, kind of like a lighthouse beam. It comes from an object in space (like a star or a planet) that's rotating very rapidly.

Scientists use special telescopes to detect these RRATs, and they track them as they spin around. This helps them learn more about what's causing them and how they work. It's kind of like trying to catch that piece of spaghetti in the bowl - except instead of getting a meal, you're gathering information about the universe!