Scientists with the Breakthrough Listen project, which is looking for aliens, are investigating a signal that could have come from Proxima Centauri, the closest star to the Sun, according to a report from The Guardian.
Why does it matter: If it were confirmed as a true sign of life, it would be extremely interesting. However, in all probability, the radio signal – found in 2019 – has a much more mundane origin story.
What happens: According to The Guardian, the scientists with Breakthrough took over a “narrow beam of radio waves” during observations with the Australian Parkes telescope in May and April 2019.
- These narrow beams are of particular interest because they look like the kinds of radio waves that people send into the universe, but that makes it even more difficult to analyze whether a signal like this is of alien or human origin.
- The scientists behind the discovery were unable to find an obvious explanation for the signal and are now making further observations to try to compose it.
- “The most obvious thing they have to do is turn around and use either Parkes or another observer with a similar sensitivity and look again,” Seth Shostak of the SETI Institute told me. is involved in new research.
What to look for: It is still possible that this signal was actually emitted by a human cause that has not yet been found.
- Or, the signal could even come from another cosmic source with properties that have not yet been fixed.
- What’s next: These possibilities will require follow-up observations to give scientists a good understanding of what actually produced the signal in the first place.
Be smart: Scientists have not yet published their full findings and it will take a lot of analysis and confirmation to know whether or not the signal is really foreign.Go deeper: Alien hunters discover mysterious signal from Proxima Centauri (Scientific American)