Scientists explain terrifying reason they think we received a signal from parallel universe

Some scientists believe us mere Earthlings might have received a signal from a parallel universe.

That’s all down to something that happened back in 2019 that apparently left them pretty baffled.

Gravitational wave detectors (LIGO and Virgo) on our planet picked up a signal that’s been described as bizarre. The event, named GW190521, was recorded at less than a tenth of a second in its duration and was pretty different to what may have been expected.

And so, one team of scientists are now running with the theory that it could be a sign of a wormhole linking our universe with a parallel one. Led by Dr Qi Lai of the University of Chinese Academy of Scientists, they wrote in a pre-print paper that the reason we heard GW190521 was because it could be an ‘echo’ of a wormhole collapsing.

The gravitational waves weren't very typical. (Getty Stock Images)

To be pretty clear before we start diving into this theory of other universes sending us signals, the preferred interpretation of the event is that it was some kind of black hole collision.

That’s given as the best explanation of it being a chance encounter of two black holes snaring each other in passing.

And the reason the event was so bizarre was as compared to the drawn-out chirps of black hole binaries on decaying orbital spirals, GW190521 was instead recorded as what was described as a sharp crack.

But the team in China don’t believe the theory of the event being the echo of a black hole collision in a different universe reverberating through a collapsing wormhole can be ruled out.

Since the wormhole could only be open for such a short time, it would explain why the signal cut off seemingly abruptly.

And look, it is suggested that the scenario isn’t so likely but Dr Lai says evidence can’t totally rule out the idea the signal travelled to us from another universe.

“The wormhole represents such an object connecting either two separate universes or two distant regions in a single universe through a throat,” the scientists write.

Dr Lai continues: “The ringdown signal after BBHs (binary black holes) merged in another universe can pass through the throat of a wormhole and be detected in our universe as a short-duration echo pulse.”

If their theory was true, it would help prove the idea that wormholes exist as well as giving scientists new tool to study them.

If wormholes were proven to exist that would be absolutely terrifying but I guess it would make all those Marvel movies a bit more realistic, eh?

But don't threat just yet as generally, the feeling is that the idea of a signal coming from a universe is a loose one.

Phew.

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