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Mysterious Star Pulses May Be Alien Signals, Study Claims (iop.org)

Posted by EditorDavid on from the call-me-maybe dept.

"Strange pulses of cosmic light might be signals from hundreds of different alien civilizations -- or just the latest false alarm in the tortuous search for E.T.," reports Space.com. Slashdot reader Okian Warrior shares this excerpt from the paper which argues that the signals "cannot be caused by instrumental or data analysis effects." Finally, we consider the possibility, predicted in a previous published paper, that the signals are caused by light pulses generated by extraterrestrial intelligence (ETI) to makes us aware of their existence. We find that the detected signals have exactly the shape of an ETI signal predicted in the previous publication and are therefore in agreement with this hypothesis. The fact that they are only found in a very small fraction of stars within a narrow spectral range centered near the spectral type of the Sun is also in agreement with the ETI hypothesis.
The researchers add that "at this stage, this hypothesis needs to be confirmed with further work," and Seth Shostak, a senior astronomer at SETI, tells Space.com that "If I were a betting guy, I'd bet this is an artifact of the way they processed their data."

11 of 128 comments (clear)

  1. Wonderful! by beheaderaswp · · Score: 5, Insightful

    It's wonderful when science steps out into the fringe. Sometimes they end up being right or discover something useful unrelated to their initial inquiry.

    I've no idea whether they are right this time. But this phenomenon will be studied heavily. And we'll learn more. Pure research, even that which seems obtuse, often provides more knowledge when it's conclusions are wrong. Even when Stanley Pons and Martin Fleischmann failed to produce fusion using a palladium lattice- there was knowledge gained.

    Though I hope these researchers are right. The SETI question has large potential for positive change in society in general.

    --
    Another consultant who stuck it out.

    "We are the Priests, of the Temples of Syrinx..."
    1. Re:Wonderful! by GerryHattrick · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Might SETI 'change society'? For thousands of years we believed there was an ideal extraterrestrial community caled 'Heaven' - did that help us stop wars? Do those who still believe abstain from genocide? Would any other cosmic certainty improve things?

    2. Re:Wonderful! by JustAnotherOldGuy · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Might SETI 'change society'? For thousands of years we believed there was an ideal extraterrestrial community caled 'Heaven' - did that help us stop wars? Do those who still believe abstain from genocide? Would any other cosmic certainty improve things?

      Because this time it would be real and the majority of people would know deep down it was true, regardless of what their religion said. Some might choose to ignore it or disbelieve, but most would accept it as a fact.

      A lot of people who claim to believe in god don't really believe in god. But I bet most people would believe in SETI signals if they were well-verified and a majority of scientists who understood this stuff agreed and supported the findings.

      That said, I don't think it would necessarily reform society, but it might shift the mindset considerably in some areas. It wouldn't stop murder or genocide or wars, but it might help spark more self-awareness in people in general, and that's the start of empathy, cooperation, etc. It would also gives all the cranks an "other" to hate that wasn't a human person or group.

      --
      Just cruising through this digital world at 33 1/3 rpm...
    3. Re: Wonderful! by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 4, Insightful

      You have no idea what a society without religion would look like.

      I doubt if ETL would have much negative effect on religion. I know plenty of religious people, and they are MORE likely to believe in aliens than the non-religious people that I know. Mormonism includes an affirmative belief in life on other planets. Back in the late 1800s, it was widely believed that there were canals on Mars, and far more people believed in ETL than believe today. I was not used as an effective argument against religion.

    4. Re:Wonderful! by ColdWetDog · · Score: 3, Insightful

      A nice collection of thoughts but I would posit the vast majority of humans Wouldn't Give A Damn. It won't help them pay for food or shelter. It won't help with their genocidal next door neighbors. They would be light years away with no FTL capability (that we've been able to discern).

      The major religions that traditionally have espoused Earth as the Only Place God Likes have long figured out contingency plans for discovery of Alien life.

      It certainly would help with the circulation numbers of The Daily News and National Enquirer and would spark all sorts of new YouTube videos and the like. But most people would still worry about whether or not the Cubs will win the World Series.

      --
      Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
    5. Re:Wonderful! by alexgieg · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Oh, really? Do tell.

      From the Books and Media section of the Vatican Observatory Foundation's website:

      "Intelligent Life in the Universe: Catholic belief and the search for extraterrestrial life", Br. Guy Consolmagno, SJ

      Originally published by the Catholic Truth Society in London, and long out of print, this pamphlet outlines what we know about the search for intelligent life, both how we search and why we search, and what it can mean for Catholics and our understanding of our faith.

      Download Now (1.5MB PDF) Suggested Donation $5.00

      --
      Conservatism: (n.) love of the existing evils. Liberalism: (n.) desire to substitute new evils for the existing ones.
  2. learn from your planet and stay away! by kiviQr · · Score: 5, Funny

    For once we should learn from our planet. If you are in a vast ocean of space and see a faint light it is ... Anglerfish - run!

  3. We've been here before by Viol8 · · Score: 3, Informative

    Every 5 or 10 years someone discovers some signal which they think maybe could be possibly be ET. Then it either turns out to be a some new stellar physics or interference from earth. IIRC one ET "discovery" turned out to be the microwave oven in the kitchen of the science centre.

  4. It's instrumental or data analysis effects by Sarusa · · Score: 4, Informative

    > the paper which argues that the signals "cannot be caused by instrumental or data analysis effects."

    It can. Their methodology is completely full of holes and willfully insufficiently paranoid considering what they're claiming.

    Go read the PDF - it's hard to say 100% without having the original data, but it sure looks like they're torturing the data till it confesses what they want - what they predicted in their previous paper.

    Hell, there might even be a signal, by all means keep looking harder. But when you jump right to History Channel 'I Don't Know - Therefore Aliens.' And then add 'HUNDREDS of Aliens Civilizations' on such tenuous evidence you start the race with a self-inflicted foot wound.

  5. It's an answer to a question.. by MiniMike · · Score: 3, Funny

    The signal decodes as one repeating byte, 101010. Now to find out exactly what the question was...

  6. Unfortunately... by fahrbot-bot · · Score: 4, Funny

    ... the messages are about an impending hyperspace express route to be built through our star system. The planning charts and demolition orders have been on display at the local planning department in Alpha Centauri for fifty years ...

    --
    It must have been something you assimilated. . . .