A powerful radio signal from the depths of space has been detected. Is there life beyond Earth? The latest signals from space What signal came from space
I am very skeptical about information about all sorts of aliens and signals from deep space. Even if for millions of years some kind of signal was coming from somewhere, then taking into account our capabilities and distances - SO WHAT?
However, for the second time in history, astronomers were able to detect a source of powerful repeating radio signals in space. But what or who emits these impulses remains a mystery.
In 2007, while studying the archives of the Parkes Observatory in Australia, two researchers discovered a radio signal that the observatory had recorded six years earlier, but no one had noticed. It lasted only a few milliseconds, but was amazing in its power - the radiation was 500 times more powerful than solar radiation.
Since then, astronomers have been trying to figure out what caused these mysterious emissions. There are many theories: some blame black holes, others blame collisions of neutron stars. Perhaps an object in the center of the galaxy is gradually falling into a supermassive black hole - or, on the contrary, this mysterious dark matter interacts with pulsars, causing powerful bursts of energy. However, none of these theories can yet be proven or disproved by actual evidence, because there is one global problem: The detected radio signals lasted a negligible amount of time and then disappeared without a trace.
However, new publications in the journal Nature shed light on the nature of the cosmic anomaly. For only the second time in history, astronomers have finally discovered a source that repeats its signal. This phenomenon is called “fast radio bursts” (FRB): 13 new signals were discovered by the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment.
Until now, scientists only knew. A new source, FRB 180814. J0422 + 73, was discovered in the summer of 2018 - even before the CHIME equipment finally came online. After the launch, this signal appeared several more times, although the exact coordinates of the source have not yet been established.
Where do theories about black holes come from then? In fact, the nature of the signal scattering and the relatively small (according to observations) source emitting radio waves with enormous power indicate that the source itself is located in a very aggressive environment - most likely it will be either a black hole or a neutron star. There is another interesting hypothesis, according to which the source could be a collision of dense objects.
Is it possible to solve this riddle? Can. However, to do this, scientists will need to collect much more information - in particular, they will have to find other sources of repeating signals, as well as some events associated with them, for example, flashes of light in the visible spectrum.
sources
During all the time scientists have been studying the sky, they have received strange signals from space many times. Some of them were eventually explained natural causes. Some still have no explanation. And of course, as always happens, all strange signals from space are immediately attributed to some alien civilizations, although in practice everything turns out to be much more banal.
In 2003, a strange radio signal from space was detected three times with a total duration of about a minute. Its frequency was 1420 MHz - it is at this frequency that hydrogen emits and absorbs energy. However, the frequency of this signal changed very quickly, which seemed to indicate its artificial origin.
However, in the place in space where this radio signal came from, there is not a single star 1000 light years away from us. And some other signs speak in favor of its natural origin. While there is no consensus on this matter, the origin of this strange cosmic signal remains unknown. Perhaps this is due to some phenomenon unknown to science, or it is cosmic noise, or some kind of malfunction of the radio telescope is generally to blame. There is no explanation yet.
By the way, the SHGb02+14a radio signal was received at the Arecibo radio telescope and decrypted using the SETI@home network, using the power of a huge network of volunteer home computers. Anyone who has a computer and the Internet can join this network, and then the home computer will receive small tasks, calculate them, and send the results. In general, this network thus has enormous computing power, allowing it to process gigantic amounts of information every day.
Signal from star HD 164 595
The star HD 164 595 is located in the constellation Hercules, at a distance of 95 light years from us. This yellow dwarf, similar to our Sun, and anyone can find this star through a telescope.
On May 15, 2015, the world's largest radio telescope, RATAN-600, recorded a signal at a frequency of 11 GHz coming from the direction of this star. This signal was short but powerful.
Of course, there were hypotheses about a certain civilization near the star HD 164 595, which sent us news, but Russian scientists did not agree with this. Its origin also remains unclear.
Signal from the Perseus Cluster
The Perseus Cluster is one of the most massive objects in the Universe known today. This is a giant cluster of thousands of galaxies.
In 2003, the Chandra Space Telescope detected a signal equivalent to the sound of the B-flat note. This is the lowest frequency that could be received from space; even the human ear cannot perceive it.
The origin of this sound signal is unknown. There is a hypothesis that such oscillations result from the inflation of plasma bubbles in the active nucleus of the galaxy NGC 1275, part of the Perseus cluster.
Fast radio bursts
In 2007, a radio burst of unknown origin was detected. It was single and short, but very powerful. It lasted only a few milliseconds, but the verification took 5 years. The source of this strange cosmic signal was found to be 3 billion light years from Earth, but it could not be detected or explained.
Fast radio bursts are one of the most unusual and inexplicable cosmic phenomena. They can only be discovered by accident, in the most unexpected places in the sky. Their duration is very short and they are unlikely to happen again. It is very difficult to establish their source and nature. But their power is such that the Sun is capable of producing such energy in tens of thousands of years.
Strange signal from space “WoW!”
On August 15, 1977, the Big Ear radio telescope detected a radio signal in the direction of the constellation Sagittarius. It lasted 72 seconds.
The radio telescope is installed permanently and scans the sky as the Earth rotates. Therefore, scientists hoped that they would be able to catch this signal again when the radio telescope was again pointed at the same point in a day. However, this did not happen, and this signal could no longer be detected. Its nature remained a mystery.
As we can see, even in the few decades since scientists began using radio telescopes, they have been able to discover a lot strange signals from space. Of course, some of them found their explanations, and many discoveries were made this way. For example, this is how pulsars, powerful sources of radio emission, were discovered. But some of these strange signals remain a mystery waiting to be explained.
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The science
A number of mysterious pulsating signals were received on Earth, located beyond solar system, the scientists said.
Researchers believe that it is possible radio signals from space have artificial source (human or non-human).
So called fast radio pulses are radio signals that last about a millisecond and release as much energy as the Sun produces in a day.
This year several such signals were noticed for the first time. To understand how far these fast radio pulses travel, astronomers use a scatter index: the further away the signal, the greater the scatter index.
Signals from space
New study finds 10 such fast radio pulses, and the intervals separating the beginning and end of these signals were multiples of 187.5. This suggests that each of them came from separate sources located one after another on equal distance from the earth.
However, the probability that the placement of these signals is random is 5 in 10,000.
Scientists believe it is unlikely that these regularly spaced radio signals are from another galaxy, as dust would cause confusion and would likely the signal comes from our Milky Way galaxy.
The discovery was made Michael Hippke(Michael Hippke) from the Institute for Data Analysis in Neukirchen, Germany and John Learned(John Learned) from the University of Hawaii.
Fast radio flashes may be caused by some natural but unknown processes ranging from exploding stars to white dwarf mergers and neutron star collisions.
If we exclude these options, then scientists consider the possibility artificial origin (human or non-human), for example, the technologies of intelligent beings.
“We have something really interesting to understand,” said Michael Hippke. “It will either be new physical phenomenon, or, if everything else is excluded, aliens."
Extraterrestrial civilizations
In the 60s, Russian scientist Nikolai Kardashev began to explore what radio signals from a developed extraterrestrial civilization could be. In his work “Transmission of Information by Extraterrestrial Civilizations,” written in 1963, he classified extraterrestrial civilizations into 3 categories.
Signal from Type I civilization uses planetary energy from all its sources: solar, thermal, volcanic, tectonic, hydrodynamic, oceanic, etc.
Type II civilization uses the energy of its star. To do this, she needs to capture radiation from the Sun, throw material into a black hole and absorb the radiation, or travel to many planets and strip them of their resources.
Type III civilization capable of harnessing the energy of an entire galaxy such as the Milky Way. If a Type III civilization existed in the galaxy, it would be plunged into darkness, except for residual infrared radiation from large technological projects.
That they were able to detect a signal of unknown origin, which may be evidence of the existence of an extraterrestrial civilization from a star system located at a distance of approximately 95 light years from us. The signal was detected using the RATAN-600 radio telescope at a wavelength of 2.7 centimeters. This happened back in 2015, but it became known only now.
Fast radio bursts (FRBs) last only a few milliseconds and remain a mystery to scientists. Despite decades of work and observations, astronomers still don't know what their source is. Scientists have witnessed repeating FRBs for the first time. This observation, in turn, may put an end to skepticism regarding the reality of these phenomena.
“I consider this a very big event. For some time I believed that these phenomena belonged exclusively to the astrophysical aspect. However new job It allowed me to doubt this and ask some questions,” says Peter Williams, an astronomer at the Harvard Center for Astrophysics who has long worked in the field of FRB studies.
So far, astronomers have recorded seventeen one-time radio bursts. But recently Jason Hessels and his colleagues from the Netherlands Institute of Radio Astronomy reported that they detected more than 10 bursts coming from the same direction - and from the same direction as one of the pulses recorded in 2012.
More about fast radio bursts
Scientists searching for evidence of extraterrestrial life as part of the SETI program considered this a powerful signal worth it to establish constant surveillance of its source. So far, there are few details about the opening. The authors of the study promise to tell all the details at the International Astronautical Congress, which will be held in the last week of September in Guadalajara, Mexico.
Of course, there is a high probability that in fact the cause of this signal is completely different. For example, radio interference of terrestrial origin or a technical failure in the operation of a radio telescope. To rule out these possibilities, additional observations are needed using several radio telescopes around the world. True, since the “discoverers” of this mysterious signal for unknown reasons whole year kept the find secret from others; one cannot count on confirmation of this phenomenon by third-party organizations at all.
“To be honest, we did not expect to see any impulses at all. Observing repeated bursts can help us determine their origin. The study of the new pulses made it possible to understand that they did not originate in some catastrophic explosion, as a result of which the source was destroyed, for example, during the merger of two neutron stars, as previously thought. Most likely, the signal came from a rotating source that repeatedly sends radio waves in our direction. If the source is outside our galaxy, then it is likely a very powerful pulsar,” says Hessels.
Comparison of the sizes of the planets of the solar system and the mysterious HD 164595 b
It is now known that the signal came from the direction of the star HD 164595, located in the constellation Hercules. The star HD 164595 is primarily interesting because it is similar in many ways to the Sun. The age of this star is estimated at 6.3 billion years (the age of our Sun is 4.5 billion years), and its mass is 0.99 solar masses. But more importantly, HD 164595 has one known planet, HD 164595 b, orbiting it every 40 days and 16 times the mass of Earth.
However, this planet does not fall into the category of “planets potentially suitable for life”: it is located outside the “habitable zone” of its star and does not have a rocky structure. Available evidence indicates that HD 164595 b is most likely gas giant, like Neptune.
In general, it is too early to make any statements; additional checks are needed. If the data is confirmed, the discovery could become the second Wow signal - a similar powerful signal recorded by Dr. Jerry Eyman on August 15, 1977, while working on the Big Ear radio telescope at Ohio State University. Amazed by how closely the characteristics of the received signal matched the expected characteristics of an interstellar signal, Eyman circled the corresponding group of symbols on the printout and wrote “Wow!” on the side. (“Wow!”). This signature gave the signal its name. Then scientists were never able to prove the connection with extraterrestrial civilizations, and no other interstellar messages from this area have been received since then.
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Radio waves can travel in outer space without problems; they are emitted by many celestial bodies. For example, our Milky Way galaxy makes hissing noises. In July 2006, researchers launched a weather balloon from NASA's Columbia Aerostat Center in Palestine, Texas. Scientists looked for traces of heating from first-generation stars in upper layers atmosphere, at an altitude of 36.5 km, where it turns into airless space. Instead, they heard an unusual radio hum. It came from deep space, and researchers still don’t know for sure what caused it and where its source is.
9. Peaceful sounds of Miranda
Uranus has five large moons, and the closest one is Miranda. A planet that stands out among others due to its unusual shape is called the “Frankenstein moon.” It is seven times smaller than our Moon, but its surface is carved with canyons that are 12 times deeper than the Grand Canyon in Colorado. It is also known to emit radio noise, recorded spacecraft Voyager 2. This “tune” was so entertaining that NASA even released an album with a recording of “Miranda’s melodies.”
8. Ominous sounds of Jupiter
June 27, 1996 spaceship Galileo, launched by NASA to explore the largest planet in the solar system, approached one of its moons, Ganymede. Rotating in the satellite's orbit, the device recorded signals that it transmitted to Earth. Researchers believe they come from charged particles accumulating in the moon's magnetosphere.
7. Sounds of stars
The Kepler space observatory was launched on March 7, 1999 with the goal of finding habitable planets. During the trip, the device recorded data on the light curves of stars. The brightness frequencies of these curves are very similar to audio frequencies that are elusive to the human ear. However, using the Fourier transform, the researchers brought the frequency to an audible level.
6. Radio signal SHGb02+14a
The SETI@home search for extraterrestrial intelligence project, launched in 1999, involved millions of personal computer owners in processing signals received by the Arecibo Observatory. The radio signal SHGb02+14a, received in March 2003, inspired the most hope. It was recorded three times and came from the area between the constellations Pisces and Aries. True, the nearest stars in that direction are thousands of light years away from Earth.
5. Strange sounds of Saturn
The unmanned Cassini-Huygens spacecraft, sent to Saturn in 1997, was the first to enter the ringed planet's atmosphere. But at a distance of 377 million kilometers from Saturn, the device began to detect radio waves emanating from the aurora regions at the planet’s poles. This ominous noise has a rather complex structure, with a large number of rising and falling tones, as well as many changes in frequency and timing.
4. X-ray signal
By studying in detail data obtained by the orbiting X-ray observatories Chandra (NASA) and XMM-Newton (European Space Agency), researchers have discovered an unexplained X-ray signal in a cluster of galaxies in the constellation Perseus. Scientists believe that the signal is associated with dark matter(that is, matter that does not interact with electromagnetic radiation), which occupies 26% of our Universe. Astrophysicists suggest that such X-ray emission could arise from the decay of sterile neutrinos—a hypothetical type of neutrino that interacts with ordinary matter only gravitationally. Some astrophysicists believe that sterile neutrinos will help shed light on dark matter.
3. The disturbing sound of a black hole
The sound of a black hole was recreated by Edward Morgan of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. To do this, he used data on star system GRS 1915+105 in the constellation Aquila, discovered in 1992. This is the largest stellar mass black hole in our world. Milky Way. It is 14 (+/-4) times heavier than the Sun and is located at a distance of 36 thousand light years from Earth. Musically speaking, the radio noise from a black hole corresponds to the note "B-flat", only 57 octaves lower than the "C" of the third octave. But people are able to perceive only 10 octaves by ear. This is the lowest note recorded in the Universe.
2. Radio pulses at the Parkes telescope
Between February 2011 and January 2012, the Parkes radio telescope located in Australia recorded 4 pulses of radio emission. Each lasted milliseconds, but they were all incredibly powerful - it would take our Sun 300,000 years to generate the energy of one pulse. There are several theories to explain the origin of the outbreaks. Among them is the collision of magnetars (neutron stars with strong magnetic fields).
1. Radio pulses at the Arecibo telescope
On November 2, 2012, the Arecibo radio telescope in Puerto Rico detected a short radio pulse similar to those detected by Parkes. The researchers made calculations that showed that such impulses occur 10,000 times a day. Now astrophysicists are building new observatories and also using the power of telescopes in Australia, South Africa and Canada to understand why these radio signals are coming so often and what they mean.