Extraterrestrial life? Not at all.. mysterious space signal turns out to be a faltering device

Was it perhaps extraterrestrial life or something that could answer one of the big questions about space? None of that, according to thorough research by scientists. The mysterious “space noise” that caused quite a stir among astronomers two years ago most likely came from a malfunctioning electrical device.

In April 2019, the Parkes Telescope in New South Wales, Australia, picked up a signal for about five hours, an unusual wavelength (982 MHz) rarely used by aircraft, satellites or other human-made devices.

Proxima Centauri

This intrigued scientists, also because the telescope was aimed at Proxima Centauri at the time. That is the star closest to the sun. A planet revolves around the star, which theoretically contains liquid water and therefore life could be possible.

The signal therefore inspired scientists to conduct further research. But after that one day in April, it was no longer picked up, despite three new search attempts late last year and this year. And now the researchers have an explanation, they write in the scientific journal Nature Astronomy.

Broken computer

“It was a man-made radio interference from some technology, probably from the Earth’s surface,” said one of the astronomers who co-authored the study; Sofia Sheikh, of the University of California.

It may have been a broken computer, telephone or radio near the telescope, which was switched off or repaired after about five hours.

Jason Wright, an astronomer from the University of Pennsylvania, tells the site of Nature that the study was “very valuable” despite the somewhat unsatisfactory outcome. “We need these kinds of signals so that we know how to deal with them and how to prove they are alien or human.”

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