Messages from ALIENS? Mystery of strange radio bursts from space

Mysterious bursts of energy coming from space align in a mathematical pattern, and so could be emanating from alien technology, according to scientists.

Blitzars, which last only about a millisecond, have been detected by telescopes since about 2001 and have been heard ten times since. And nobody really knows where they come from, or why they happen.

‘If the pattern is real,’ University of Hawaii researcher John Learned says, ‘It is very, very hard to explain.’

An FRB was captured ‘live’ in November 2014, by the CSIRO Parkes Radio Telescope in Australia. Previous signals had only been noticed by researchers weeks or months after they were detected.

Michael Hippke of the Institute for Data Analysis in Neukirchen-Vluyn, Germany, and John Learned at the University of Hawaii in Manoa say that all the known FRB signals have dispersion measures that are multiples of 187.5.

This implies that the signals all come from sources at distances at exactly spaced multiples of each other, billions of light years from Earth.

The astronomers suggest that there is a possibility that the signals could come from somewhere closer to home – and from something unknown.

Astronomers have previously speculated the signals could come from evaporating black holes, or even from distant alien civilisations.

Nigel Watson, author of the UFO Investigations Manual (Haynes), says, ‘Every unusual signal from outer space encourages us to wonder if it is from an alien civilisation.

‘It would be fantastic if this is an alien signal as the knowledge that we are not alone in this vast universe would have a dramatic impact on our perception of our place in the scheme of things.’

‘It would certainly give the opportunity for UFO spotters to say we told you aliens exist – and you didn’t believe us!’

Agencies/Canadajournal