Alien Life? Scientists Think Strange Signals From Space Could Be Message From ETs
Two Canadian scientists think signals coming from outer space are proof of alien life and they’ve published their findings in a scientific journal detailing their evidence of extraterrestrial messages.
The study, appearing in the Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, says there are 234 stars that have been sending signals in the form of light pulses toward Earth.
Astronomers Ermanno Borra and Eric Trottier, from the University of Laval in Quebec, examined 2 million stars that were cataloged by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and observed unexplainable rapid bursts of light.
The scientists considered several explanations for the light bursts including human error before deciding they were probably alien signals, according to Fox News.
“Finally, we consider the possibility, predicted in a previous published paper, that the signals are caused by light pulses generated by [extraterrestrial intelligence] to makes us aware of their existence.”
An earlier paper, published by Borra, detailed the type of communication Earth could expect to receive from an alien culture: it’s an exact match for the signals coming from the 234 stars, according to Tech Times.
“We find that the detected signals have exactly the shape of an ETI signal predicted in the previous publication and are therefore in agreement with this hypothesis.”
Also, the fact that there is only a small fraction, 234 stars out of 2.5 million, of stars that were found to emit the strange light pulses matches the earlier ETI hypothesis.
Not everyone in the scientific community agrees with the Canadian scientists, however. Researchers working for Stephen Hawking’s Breakthrough Listen project at the Berkeley SETI Research Center say it’s way too early to confirm the mysterious signals as proof of alien life.
“Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. It is too early to unequivocally attribute these purported signals to the activities of extraterrestrial civilizations.”
A Canadian astronomer says he’s found not just one alien signal from a far-away world, but 234 of them. https://t.co/6PkuYEAJDF
— MSN NZ (@MSNNZ) October 26, 2016
Potential alien signal identified, confirming patterns theorized in the 50's! Best time to be alive or what?! https://t.co/CdCJJT1yG9
— Raphael Ouzan (@raphaelouzan) October 26, 2016
The SETI researchers have promised to observe the alien stars with the Automated Planet Finder telescope so they can confirm or deny the existence of alien life and the extraterrestrial message.
The Breakthrough Listen researchers say there are well-established international protocols that call for confirmation by independent groups using their own telescopes before any claim of alien life can be substantiated.
Scientists who search for alien life, the SETI community, use a 0 to 10 scale to rate the evidence of extraterrestrial life called the Rio Scale, and the Berkeley researchers rate the Borra-Trottier evidence as a 0 or 1, according to their statement.
“If the signal were to be confirmed with another independent telescope, its significance would rise, though an exhaustive analysis of other possible explanations, including instrumental phenomena, must be performed before supporting the hypothesis that artificially generated pulses are responsible for the claimed signal.”
This isn’t the first time scientists have uncovered possible evidence of alien life only to have the result turn out negative.
Earlier this year, a Russian team of scientists reported receiving a strange signal from a star 94 light years away only to discover the alien message had a very earthly origin.
In 1977, SETI researchers received a strange signal that still remains the best candidate for an alien transmission; it’s referred to as the Wow! Signal and has never been repeated. There have been a number of hypotheses about the source of the signal and earthly origins haven’t been completely ruled out.
There’s also the case of the mysterious dimming star that many people are calling an alien megastructure. The alien sun, called Taby’s Star, has appeared to dim over the last century suggesting something is passing in front of it and that’s led to speculation about a massive Dyson sphere.
Then, astronomers spotted a second star with the same peculiar dimming qualities leading to the hypothesis that light from the alien sun was being blocked by massive ring of dust and gas known as a protoplanetary disc, according to The Atlantic.
“Aliens should always be the very last hypothesis you consider.”
Do you think the strange light pulses are really an alien signal?
[Featured Image by JOE CICAK/iStock]
