Did That Message Come From Earth or Space? Now SETI Researchers can be Sure - by briankoberlein
In radio astronomy, there are lots of natural radio signals to observe. The glow of hydrogen gas, the swirl of electrons along a magnetic field, or the pop-pop-pop of pulsars. These signals usually have a very natural character to them, so astronomers can distinguish them from the artificial chirps and chatters of terrestrial sources. But when you’re looking for the signals of alien civilizations, things can get more tricky.
It’s not an easy challenge. Even natural signals can be confused with artificial ones. For example, back in 2007, astronomers began detecting bright radio pulses known as fast radio bursts . These millisecond-long bursts are likely caused by magnetars, though there is still much we don’t understand about them. After they were discovered, astronomers at Parkes Observatory combed through their old data and found radio chirps similar to FRBs.
The SETI project specifically looks for unusual signals with an artificial character, and they find lots of them. Everything from cars starting to Starlink satellites can create a strong artificial signal. Usually, the way to distinguish between a local source and a distant one is to move the telescope “off-target” a bit, then back to the source. If you’ve ever seen the movie, this is what the astronomers do to confirm the alien signal is coming from Vega.
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