[ad_1]
Unexplained radio signals last only a fraction of a second and have been dubbed by Fast Radio Burst or FRB astronomers. The first radio burst was met in 2007 after Australian researchers discovered an anomaly in a 2001 data set. Since then, astronomers have nearly 100 other short-term radio signals, including those that repeat themselves. This discovery has led scientists to question whether FRBs are of natural origin or whether they are trying to communicate with an exotic species.
What are fast radio bursts? Where do they come from?
There is no scientific consensus on the origin of these enigmatic radio bursts.
Most FRBs, with the exception of repeaters, last only a millisecond, which greatly complicates the task of finding them.
The FRBs are also quite weak and have been compared to the signal emitted by a phone deposited on the surface of the Moon.
But in June of this year, astronomers made a breakthrough discovery by bringing an FRB back to its original galaxy.
The radio explosion was discovered on the outskirts of a galaxy located about four billion light-years away.
READ MORE: The cosmic mystery of "fast radio bursts" of space puzzles astronomers
Could the FRB be evidence of past foreign life?
Because of the distances traveled by the FRB before they can reach the Earth, the probability that they will be transmitted by an extraterrestrial civilization is incredibly small.
Some believe, however, that radio signals are evidence of the existence of extraterrestrial spacecraft or civilizations that have disappeared from nearby galaxies.
But with very little evidence to support this theory, the SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) institute believes that signals can be explained by natural phenomena.
When astronomers in Canada found a new FRB repeater in January of this year, the SETI institute joined the debate on their origin.
READ MORE: Are strange FRB signals proof of extraterrestrial life?
Seth Shostak, a veteran astronomer from SETI, said, "Obviously, celebrity and mandate remain within the reach of anyone who can accurately determine the power of fast radio. But could these signals be due to extraterrestrials?
"Probably not, especially when we look at the astronomical history. Strangers often have the merit of causing a new celestial phenomenon.
"Half a century ago, Soviet scientists suspected quasars to be signals emitted by very far advanced societies.
"In the 1960s, British radio astronomers temporarily called the pulsars" Little Green Men. "
READ MORE: What will happen when NASA gets in touch?
A key clue to why FRBs are not of foreign origin, said the SETI Institute, is that radio signals appear all over the sky.
If the FRBs come from galaxies billions of light years away, they must be powered by incredibly powerful energy sources.
Astronomers believe that it could act as black holes colliding with each other or with neutron stars.
Extraterrestrials broadcasting ephemeral messages across the cosmos are incredibly unlikely.
Mr. Shostak said, "I think you can count on an intelligent theorist offering an explanation of these weird phenomena in a year or two. I doubt it is aliens.
[ad_2]
Source link