Mysterious alien signals challenging astronomical worlds

Extremely fast and extremely rare cosmic radio wave outbreaks are still one of the biggest mysteries of astrophysics.

Extremely fast and extremely rare cosmic radio wave outbreaks are still one of the biggest mysteries of astrophysics.

Researchers at the Netherlands Radio Astronomy Institute first discovered the fast flashing FRB 150215 in 2015 and they are still investigating its origin.

"We spend a lot of time using a lot of telescopes to find anything attached to it. We have many clues about the new wave that we never knew before. We are still trying to judge. Where does this flash come from? " Gizmodo yesterday quoted Emily Petroff, who led the research.

Picture 1 of Mysterious alien signals challenging astronomical worlds

FRB 150215 made scientists confused because it was impossible to identify the signal source.(Photo: Tumblr).

Fast-wave flashes (FRB) are radio waves that happen quickly and randomly, making them not only difficult to find but also difficult to study. The mystery comes from the fact that researchers do not know what produces such short and clear radio waves. Some assumptions range from interstellar collisions to messages sent by aliens to Earth.

Despite finding 22 FRBs, astronomers are confident the number could be up to 2,000 FRB emitted in the universe every day. While researchers can use telescopes to determine the origin of the signal, FRB 150215 is a special case because it leaves no trace, although it can be observed through several telescopes.

"Waves are monitored by 11 telescopes that specialize in searching for radio, optical, X-ray, gamma and neutrino sources. But it is not associated with any source and no repeating rhythm is recorded received in 17.25 hours of observation, "the team said.

Even more mysterious is that, theoretically, FRB 150215 cannot be detected from the Earth in terms of the space in which the signal originates. It must pass through a very dense area in the Milky Way to reach Earth. The galactic magnetic field should have changed the direction of the light emitted by radio waves, but the opposite was true.

"Maybe the signal goes through some kind of hole in the Milky Way, making it easier to detect than regular searches," Petroff speculated.

Update 17 December 2018
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