The Weird! Signal

[Disir]

Last week we distributed a press release announcing the Planetary Habitability Laboratory’s new collaboration with other observatories to study the red dwarf stars Barnard’s Star and Ross 128. We wanted to observe Barnard’s Star because it is a nearby star that might have planets and is currently being observed by the Red Dots project. We also wanted to observe, again, Ross 128 because in our previous observing campaign performed in May 2017 using the Arecibo Observatory we detected some peculiar signals from this star. Our project using the Arecibo Observatory, the world’s most active and most sensitive single-dish radio telescope, was originally aimed at searching for radio emissions from red dwarf stars intended to understand their stellar activity and any star-planet interactions.


Our follow-up observations of Ross 128 got much more attention from the press than we expected, although not necessarily for the right reasons. Based on our observations, we proposed three main explanations for the source of the strange signals from the star: (1) unusual stellar activity, (2) emissions from other background objects, or (3) interference from satellite communications.


Each of these potential solutions has its own problems, and so the mystery here was that we were not able to accurately distinguish between these working hypotheses. There were other less likely possibilities, such as ground radio interference, data processing errors, among several others.


However, many people were more interested in the signals as potential proof of transmissions from an extraterrestrial intelligent civilization. Statistically, this is always the last consideration, not because such civilizations are impossible, we humans are an example, but because other possibilities had frequently arisen and no extraterrestrial civilizations have been detected yet. Nevertheless, scientists need to be open to all possibilities and explore them. The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) is a field of research that is part of astrobiology, and as such pursues finding signatures of life elsewhere in the galaxy. The SETI Berkeley Research Center at the University of California, and the SETI Institute are experts in this field.
The Weird! Signal - Planetary Habitability Laboratory @ UPR Arecibo

That's almost depressing for a multitude of reasons. The first is the rush to consider it proof of transmissions.

Followed by.........are you sure? I have a lot of people that I am pretty sure need to get back to their own planet and get off mine.

 

[waltky]

Uncle Ferd coulda swore it was aliens tryin' to contact him...

'Mystery' signal from space is solved. It's not aliens
Astronomers have finally solved the mystery of peculiar signals coming from a nearby star, a story that sparked intense public speculation this week that perhaps, finally, alien life had been found.

It hasn't. The signal, which has been formally named "Weird!" was interference from a distant satellite. Of course, astronomers said all along that extra-terrestrials were quite far at the bottom of the list of possibilities for the signals detected from Ross 128, a dim star known as a red dwarf some 11 light-years away. To experts, the true mystery was that they couldn't figure out if the bursts were unusual stellar activity, emissions from other background objects, or interference from satellite communications. "However, many people were more interested in the signals as potential proof of transmissions from an extraterrestrial intelligent civilization," wrote Abel Mendez, director of the Planetary Habitability Laboratory at the University of Puerto Rico at Arecibo in a blog post Friday, revealing the true nature of the signals.

Astronomers detected strange signals that seemed to be coming from a dwarf star about 11 light-years away, but have now determiend that the signals are interference from a distant geostationary satellite​

After further fueling speculation by summoning the world experts in the hunt for life elsewhere in the universe -- The SETI Berkeley Research Center at the University of California -- the team issued its conclusion. "We are now confident about the source of the Weird! Signal," Mendez wrote. "The best explanation is that the signals are transmissions from one or more geostationary satellites." The signals only appeared around Ross 128 because it is located "close to the celestial equator where many geostationary satellites are placed," Mendez added.

- Study of people -

He also released the results of an informal survey that he had posted on his website, asking people to weigh in on what they thought the source of the signals was, and whether or not they were scientists well versed in the matter. "Nearly 800 people participated in this informal survey (including more than 60 astronomers)," he wrote. The whole group's consensus was that the signals were most likely coming from some story of stellar activity, or some kind of astronomical phenomenon. Most people discounted the possibility of radio interference or instrumental failures, saying these were least likely. This, Mendez explained, was hardly a scientific approach to the question. "This is interesting since in the absence of solid information about the signal, most astronomers would think that these were probably the most likely explanation," Mendez wrote.

Furthermore, about one quarter of respondents said "the most likely explanation of the signal was that of a communication with an Extraterrestrial Intelligence (ETI)," he added. "These results reflect the still high expectations the public maintains on the possibility of contacting ETI." Still, all was not lost in these last few weeks of speculation and tumult. "The Planetary Habitability Laboratory of the University of Puerto Rico at Arecibo made many new friends from this experience," Mendez said, adding it had been a "great experience of open science." "The lesson here is that we all need to continue exploring and sharing results openly. Some people prefer to only learn about the successes, but others prefer science in real-time, no matter the end result."

'Mystery' signal from space is solved. It's not aliens

 

[Disir]

Uncle Ferd coulda swore it was aliens tryin' to contact him...

'Mystery' signal from space is solved. It's not aliens
Astronomers have finally solved the mystery of peculiar signals coming from a nearby star, a story that sparked intense public speculation this week that perhaps, finally, alien life had been found.

It hasn't. The signal, which has been formally named "Weird!" was interference from a distant satellite. Of course, astronomers said all along that extra-terrestrials were quite far at the bottom of the list of possibilities for the signals detected from Ross 128, a dim star known as a red dwarf some 11 light-years away. To experts, the true mystery was that they couldn't figure out if the bursts were unusual stellar activity, emissions from other background objects, or interference from satellite communications. "However, many people were more interested in the signals as potential proof of transmissions from an extraterrestrial intelligent civilization," wrote Abel Mendez, director of the Planetary Habitability Laboratory at the University of Puerto Rico at Arecibo in a blog post Friday, revealing the true nature of the signals.

Astronomers detected strange signals that seemed to be coming from a dwarf star about 11 light-years away, but have now determiend that the signals are interference from a distant geostationary satellite​

After further fueling speculation by summoning the world experts in the hunt for life elsewhere in the universe -- The SETI Berkeley Research Center at the University of California -- the team issued its conclusion. "We are now confident about the source of the Weird! Signal," Mendez wrote. "The best explanation is that the signals are transmissions from one or more geostationary satellites." The signals only appeared around Ross 128 because it is located "close to the celestial equator where many geostationary satellites are placed," Mendez added.

- Study of people -

He also released the results of an informal survey that he had posted on his website, asking people to weigh in on what they thought the source of the signals was, and whether or not they were scientists well versed in the matter. "Nearly 800 people participated in this informal survey (including more than 60 astronomers)," he wrote. The whole group's consensus was that the signals were most likely coming from some story of stellar activity, or some kind of astronomical phenomenon. Most people discounted the possibility of radio interference or instrumental failures, saying these were least likely. This, Mendez explained, was hardly a scientific approach to the question. "This is interesting since in the absence of solid information about the signal, most astronomers would think that these were probably the most likely explanation," Mendez wrote.

Furthermore, about one quarter of respondents said "the most likely explanation of the signal was that of a communication with an Extraterrestrial Intelligence (ETI)," he added. "These results reflect the still high expectations the public maintains on the possibility of contacting ETI." Still, all was not lost in these last few weeks of speculation and tumult. "The Planetary Habitability Laboratory of the University of Puerto Rico at Arecibo made many new friends from this experience," Mendez said, adding it had been a "great experience of open science." "The lesson here is that we all need to continue exploring and sharing results openly. Some people prefer to only learn about the successes, but others prefer science in real-time, no matter the end result."

'Mystery' signal from space is solved. It's not aliens

And they may have been aliens. Never underestimate the power of get off my planet.

 

[ThunderKiss1965]

Some people jump to crazy conclusions to easily. The UFO nutters are the worst of the sort.

 

[Disir]

Some people jump to crazy conclusions to easily. The UFO nutters are the worst of the sort.

They are definitely odd ducks.