Scientists Find More Mysterious Repeater Signals From Deep Space
Another set of mysterious “fast radio bursts” (FRBs) from a distant galaxy were recorded by astronomers at the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME) in British Columbia. Scientists are still unsure of the source of these strange bursts, though one potential explanation posits that they may be the product of an advanced alien civilization.
The latest bursts are the first recorded from this source since it was accidentally discovered in 2007. Astronomers remain baffled by this latest recording, which detailed signals at a significantly lower frequency than their first discovery. Initial frequencies clocked in at 1,400 megahertz, but the latest bursts came in at around 400 MHz; the lowest possible frequency their instruments could detect.
Is this potential alien civilization sending signals at varying ranges to increase its chances of being heard? If so, it seems we’re picking up all of them.
Though they were first discovered in 2007, speculation around the FRBs’ origin didn’t captivate headlines as much as it did in 2017 when Professor Avi Loeb of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics published a paper suggesting the alien possibility.
“Fast radio bursts are exceedingly bright given their short duration and origin at great distances, and we haven’t identified a possible natural source with any confidence,” Loeb said. “An artificial origin is worth contemplating and checking.”
There are two competing theories on the extraterrestrial potential; the first being that a civilization is transmitting their calling card in hopes of contacting another civilization like ourselves. The other possibility is that the bursts are propelling the sails of alien probes in deep space – a type of technology the Breakthrough Initiative is currently attempting to develop.
Astronomers noticed that whatever the source of these waves may be, it’s scattering the radio bursts – meaning it must be a massive object with “special characteristics.”
“That could mean in some sort of dense clump like a supernova remnant or near the central black hole in a galaxy,” said Dr Cherry Ng, a team member in the study from the University of Toronto. “But it has to be in some special place to give us all the scattering that we see.”
In the event that these bursts are coming from an alien megastructure, their source would likely have to be at least the size of a planet, unless they’re being emitted by some technology we can’t yet fathom. This would surely put the civilization beyond level one on the Kardashev scale, a level in which they have been able to harness all the energy of their home planet. We, on the other hand, have yet to reach such advancement.
Could this latest discovery mean we’re on the precipice of making contact with an advanced extraterrestrial civilization? It might be time to start building an intergalactic radio broadcaster of our own…
About the Author
The Betty and Barney Hill Abduction
On the evening of September 19, 1961, Barney and Betty Hill, along with their dog Delsey, were returning to their Portsmouth, New Hampshire, home after a short vacation to Niagara Falls. They were traveling on Highway 3, just south of Lancaster, when they saw a bright light in the sky. Betty, who was in the passenger seat, watched the light move lower into the sky. At first, Barney thought it was probably an airplane. Betty, who had heard of unidentified flying objects (UFOs), was sure she was looking at a flying saucer.
The Hills stopped to get a closer look at the object and let Delsey out for a short walk. Barney remained curious, but just a little frightened. He got out of the car and used his binoculars, but still could not figure out what he was looking at. He stopped the car a few more times on the way home. He described seeing lights of all different colors and rows of windows on the object. He described the object as “pancake shaped.” At one point, he approached the object and could see several occupants inside, which scared him so badly he ran quickly back to the car to join Betty where she was waiting for him.
The couple then heard buzzing sounds and felt tingling sensations throughout their bodies, but ultimately, they drove home, where they went straight to bed exhausted. They did not wake up until late the following afternoon. They then realized the four-hour trip home from Niagara Falls had taken them seven hours. Betty noticed the dress she was wearing was torn in several places and had a pinkish powder on it. The powder was later examined by five different laboratories. None of them could identify the substance.
The toes of Barney’s good dress shoes were scuffed to the point he could no longer wear them. The binoculars strap was broken and looked like it had been cut. Both Barney and Betty were wearing watches at the time of their unusual encounter. Both watches quit working and never worked again. Shiny, concentric circles appeared on the trunk of the car that seemed to have some sort of magnetic connection. They noted a strange reaction from a compass after it was placed near the circles.
At her sister’s urging, Betty called the nearby Pease Air Force base to report the incident. As Betty and Barney each recalled the incident, they became convinced they had been abducted by extraterrestrials.
The Betty and Barney Hill abduction story was the first of its kind, but certainly not the last. Although the incident happened more than 50 years ago, it is still being discussed and analyzed today. Were the Hills really abducted? If so, what happened to them during their time on the spaceship? What and who did they see? How did they communicate? Where were the extraterrestrials from? Let’s find out what exactly happened in the aftermath of this historical milestone event.
The Air Force Investigation
Barney would have preferred to just keep the experience quiet and between the two of them, fearing that he and Betty would be viewed as “eccentric.” Betty won their brief argument on the issue and on September 21, she called the Air Force to report their experience. Major Paul Henderson visited them in person and wrote a report of the interview dated September 26, 1961. It’s unclear whether or not Henderson viewed the Hills as credible; a National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena (NICAP) report concludes that there was “insufficient data in the Air Force files.”
