Repeated signals from middle of the Milky Way could be aliens saying hello, new study claims
We're receiving a repeated signal from the middle of the Milky Way galaxy, and according to a new study it could be a sign that aliens are trying to contact us.
At times, we pick up signals from the depths of space and it's often exciting to wonder just what has caused it. Indeed, the idea that it might be aliens is an enticing one.
However, when we tend to get a consistent detection of radio waves, it's usually something like a pulsar rather than little green men trying to give us a call.
A new study has taken software developed to detect repetitive patterns of radio waves from space and is using them to try and detect if any of the signals we're picking up are something else.
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In particular, they're wanting to know if signals from the centre of our galaxy, the Milky Way, could be from a community of alien life searching for intelligent creatures like ourselves.
The researchers and their software can get through 1.5 million samples of data in half an hour, making our ability to process all the signals reaching the Earth much quicker.
The project is the Breakthrough Listen Investigation for Periodic Spectral Signals (BLIPSS), and is headed up by Cornell University graduate student Akshay Suresh.
Study co-author Steve Croft explained that what they're really looking for is repeated patterns and narrow bandwidths, as it's unlikely for natural phenomena to produce such a signal.
He said: "Breakthrough Listen captures huge volumes of data, and Akshay’s technique provides a new method to help us search that haystack for needles that could provide tantalizing evidence of advanced extraterrestrial life form."
While the experts didn't pick up on the tell-tale signs of alien life the first time, they're going to keep looking for that elusive sign that the truth is out there.
Humanity recently tested what it would be like to receive an alien communication by broadcasting a message from Mars and challenging people to decipher what it said.
While we're picking up signals from the depths of space, we're also a pretty noisy planet ourselves with our own array of satellites and signals.
It's not impossible that somewhere among the stars there's some alien creature picking up the messages we're sending out and trying to figure out what it is.
Let's just hope we aren't annoying any space beings too much with our mixed signals.
Joe Harker