Australian scientists thrown into alien search after bizarre signal from ‘another planet’

Elon Musk says there is 'no direct evidence' for alien life

We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info

The bizarre signal, which was detected in late April 2019, sparked a great deal of enthusiasm among the scientific community last year. Picked up by the CSIRO radio telescope near Parkes in New South Wales, Australia, the signal appeared to have all the markings of an extraterrestrial phenomenon. Officially dubbed BLC1, the signal was detected along a narrow band of 982 MHz, which is very rarely produced by human technology and it appeared to have arrived from outside of the solar system.

The discovery was made as part of the Breakthrough Listen project – a £72.6million ($100million) search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) effort.

According to an initial analysis, it arrived on Earth from our nearest neighbouring star system, Proxima Centauri.

At a distance of about 4.22 light-years away, the system is suspected to host at least one potentially habitable planet.

Scientists are fairly confident there is no intelligent life in our system outside of Earth, but many hope to find so-called technosignatures indicative of alien life on other worlds.

Technosigatures include radio signals, evidence of atmospheric pollution on exoplanets, or even unexpected elevated heat signatures recorded in the night sky.

However, scientists have finally nailed down the culprit behind the Proxima Centauri signal and ET enthusiasts are in for a great deal of disappointment.

According to one of the papers, which was published in the journal Nature Astronomy, the signal originated here on Earth and was very much the product of human technology.

Sofia Sheikh, an astronomer at the University of California, Berkely and a co-author on both papers, was quoted by Nature saying: “It’s human-made radio interference from some technology, probably on the surface of the Earth.”

Texas: 'Alien abduction' captured on doorbell camera

Despite its disappointing conclusions, the signal’s detection marked the first time data collected by the Breakthrough Listen initiative sparked a hunt for alien life.

Astronomers are, consequently, positive the “dry run” will still aid the future hunt for extraterrestrials.

Jason Wright, an astronomer at Pennsylvania State University in University Park, said: “It’s really valuable for us to have these dry runs.

“We need these candidate signals so we can learn how we will deal with them – how to prove they are extraterrestrial or human made.”

Breakthrough Listen uses an array of telescopes positioned around the globe to pick listen for evidence of alien life out there among the stars.

The project has been dubbed the “largest ever scientific research programme aimed at finding evidence of civilisations beyond Earth”.

The initiative conducts a survey of some one million stars closest to Earth, as well as scanning the centre of the Milky Way and galactic plane.

Outside of the borders of our home galaxy, Breakthrough Listen surveys the 100 closest galaxies.

The initiative explained on its website: “The instruments used are among the world’s most powerful.

“They are 50 times more sensitive than existing telescopes dedicated to the search for intelligence.

“The radio surveys cover 10 times more of the sky than previous programmes.

“They also cover at least five times more of the radio spectrum – and do it 100 times faster.”

Source: Read Full Article

Previous post Josh Duggar Did Not Accept Plea Deal, Will Go to Trial
Next post How to grow your hair faster – the ONE oil for long locks