ROSS 128: MYSTERY RADIO SIGNALS DETECTED FROM RED DWARF STAR JUST 11 LIGHT-YEARS AWAYBY HANNAH OSBORNE ON 7/17/17 AT 9:49 AM
Updated | Scientists have discovered mystery signals coming from a star 11 light-years away. The “very peculiar” pulses appear to be unique to the red dwarf, scientists say, with observations of similar nearby stars showing no similar behavior.
Researchers at the Arecibo Observatory, in Puerto Rico, were observing a group of red dwarf stars in a bid to identify planets and other objects orbiting them. In April and May, the team recorded information coming from Gliese 436, Ross 128, Wolf 359, HD 95735, BD +202465, V* RY Sex and K2-18.
After analyzing the data, they noticed something odd: Ross 128 had been emitting strange radio signals. In a blog post, Abel Méndez, director of the Planetary Habitability Laboratory at the University of Puerto Rico at Arecibo, said the origin of the radio signals is not known.
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Ross 128 is a small red dwarf star in the constellation of Virgo.
ESA/NASASo what could they be? Scientists have three potential explanations at the moment: They could be emissions similar to a Type II solar flare; emissions from another object in the field of view of the star; or they are coming from a high-orbit satellite.
“Each of the possible explanations has their own problems,” Méndez wrote. “For example, Type II solar flares occur at much lower frequencies and the dispersion suggests a much farther source or a dense electron field (e.g. the stellar atmosphere?). Also, there are not many nearby objects in the field of view of Ross 128 and we have never seen satellites emit bursts like that, which were common in our other star observations.
“In case you are wondering, the recurrent aliens hypothesis is at the bottom of many other better explanations.”
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