Published 13:01 IST, February 10th 2020
Scientists discover mysterious repetitive radio signals from deep space
A number of scientists have discovered what is said to be the first-ever reliable pattern of radio bursts from deep space which is located 500M lightyears away.
A number of scientists have recently discovered what is said to be the first-ever reliable pattern of radio bursts from deep space which is located approximately 500 million lightyears away from earth. According to reports, a mystery object has led to the phenomenon which is casing transmitted signals to be sent every 16 days. However, the scientists have ruled out the potential for alien contact.
While speaking to an international media outlet, Leon Osdtrum at the Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy said that if it were an alien beacon it would have emitted more quickly as a 16-day period is not efficient for communication. However, the discovery still marks a significant moment for the astrophysicists who noticed the pattern in data from the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment radio telescope in British Columbia. It was further noted that the first case of its kind, a blast of fast radio bursts (FRBs) were reportedly emitted around one to two times per hour for four days before going silent for 12 days.
According to reports, over 100 FRBs have been noted since 2007, however, only ten have been seen to repeat this cycle. The report further suggests that the signals have been tracked to a spiral galaxy nearly 500 million lightyears away from Earth and Duncan Lorimer, an astrophysicist reportedly said that this discovery is potentially going to take the scientists in an interesting direction to get to the bottom of these repeaters.
Signal from a galaxy similar to ours
In the month of January, astronomers also found a mysterious signal originating from a nearby galaxy that looked very similar to our own galaxy. These findings could help solve the mystery of unexplained fast radio bursts that have been sent through the universe. The radio bursts could have resulted from unknown natural phenomena or even alien life.
The galaxy in question that is sending out these signals seems to be very similar to our own. According to Sarah Burke-Spolaor, assistant professor of physics and astronomy and co-author on a new paper in Nature said that identifying the host galaxy is very important for understanding the fast-radio bursts. Only after identifying the origin of the fast radio bursts can scientists try to find out what type of environment are producing the fast-radio bursts.
Updated 13:01 IST, February 10th 2020