radio signals from deep space

Radio signals from Earth-like exoplanet hint at existence of life, astronomers say

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The astronomers said that the waves needed to be very strong to get detected over such long distances 

Astronomers have discovered repeating radio signals from an Earth-like exoplanet as well as from the star that it is orbiting situated at a distance of 12 light-years from Earth, which they believe hints at the existence of life on the exoplanet.

As per the astronomers, the radio signals suggest that the Earth-sized exoplanet may have an atmosphere and a magnetic field.

Along with pointing needles of the compass in the north direction, the magnetic field of the Earth deflects high energy plasma and particles, regularly blasted out of the sun, and helps preserve its atmosphere and sustain life on the Earth.

Hence, the astronomers indicated that the possibility of the existence of a magnetic field on the Earth-like exoplanet, called YZ Ceti b, probably hints at the habitability of life on that planet.

Astronomers Jackie Villadsen and Sebastian Pineda from Bucknell University (US) and University of Colorado (US), respectively, detected a repetitive radio signal emanating from star YZ Ceti with the use of Karl GJansky Very Large Array, which is a radio telescope operated by the National Radio Astronomy Observatory of US National Science Foundation, PTI reported.   

The findings of astronomers have been published in the journal Nature Astronomy. “Whether a planet survives with an atmosphere or not can depend on whether the planet has a strong magnetic field or not,” Pineda explained. 

The radio signal was first isolated by Villadsen while she poured over data at her home on a weekend. “We saw the initial burst and it looked beautiful,” Pineda said. 

“When we saw it again, it was very indicative that, OK, maybe we really have something here,” he added. The interactions between the planet’s magnetic field and the star it orbits have led to the rise of the stellar radio waves detected by astronomers, they detected. 

However, they stated that for detecting such waves over long distances, the waves need to be very strong. The official further stated that they were in search of a method to witness these invisible magnetic fields of such tiny, distant Earth-sized planets. 

Previously, astronomers have detected magnetic fields on massive Jupiter-sized exoplanets. “If the planet has a magnetic field and it ploughs through enough star stuff, it will cause the star to emit bright radio waves,” the researchers concluded.

Scientists say radio signals from deep space could be aliens

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Scientists say radio signals from deep space could be aliens

Scientists may have found proof that E.T. really is phoning home — in the form of powerful radio signals, which have been detected repeatedly in the same exact location in space.

Astronomy experts with the Green Bank Telescope in West Virginia and the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico have discovered six new fast radio bursts (FRBs) emanating from a region far beyond our Milky Way galaxy, according to a recent report in the Astrophysical Journal.

The discovery — made in the direction of the constellation Auriga — is significant considering the fact that at least 17 FRBs have now been detected in this area. It is also the only known instance in which these signals have been found twice in the same location in space.

The region where the signals are coming from, dubbed FRB 121102 by scientists, is about 3 billion light years away from Earth.

Five of the recently found FRBs were detected with the Green Bank Telescope, while the other was recorded by the Arecibo Observatory, “for a total of 17 bursts from this source,” the report says.

The signals were also found earlier this year and in 2012.

According to experts, the FRBs could be the result of two things: solar flares from a neutron star or extra-terrestrials. But it’s still too early to tell.

“Whether FRB 121102 is a unique object in the currently known sample of FRBs, or all FRBs are capable of repeating, its characterization is extremely important to understanding fast extragalactic radio transients,” the scientists write in their report.

In 2015, physicist John Learned, with the University of Hawaii at Manoa, and Michael Hippke, with the Institute for Data Analysis, published a research paper arguing that repeating FRB waves had a 1 in 2,000 chance of being coincidental.

They claimed the radio bursts either came from a man-made spy satellite or a super-dense star, which would regularly emit bursts of radio waves.

Earlier this year, a team of astronomers from Laval University in Quebec published a report saying they had detected strange signals in a small cluster of stars.

Using data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, the pair analyzed the spectra of 2.5 million different stars and discovered at least 234 that were producing the signals.

“We find that the detected signals have exactly the shape of an ETI [extraterrestrial intelligence] signal,” wrote Ermanno Borra and Eric Trottier. “Although unlikely … there is also a possibility that the signals are due to highly peculiar chemical compositions in a small fraction of galactic halo stars.”