Astronomers may have received signals from extraterrestrial intelligence. This is the revelation of a recent article in the journal Nature Astronomy. It reports on radio signals collected during an observation campaign in 2017 using the mythical Green Bank in West Virginia (USA), the world’s largest steerable radio telescope, according to the website future

Researchers from the University of Toronto, Canada, and the American SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) Institute collaborated on this study, which aimed to find “artificial-looking electromagnetic radio signals,” traces that could be emitted by advanced extraterrestrial technologies.

Five stars under strict observation

They were able to do this thanks to an algorithm whose performance made it possible to study 115 million data extracts and 820 stars at a speed much faster than human intelligence. Of the 820 stars examined for technosignatures, five temporarily emitted radio signals that could be extraterrestrial in origin.

Several properties of these signals have indeed challenged the researchers: they are narrow-band, unlike the waves emitted by the stars, their frequencies change over time, indicating movement of the transmitter. After all, these signals only appear when a telescope is aimed at a specific star, a potential emission site.

Between 34 and 88 light years

However, according to the study, these signals come from five stars located between 34 and 88 light-years from Earth, a very short distance at the galaxy level but still inaccessible to humans. So far, no planet has been discovered nearby. However, such a discovery needs to be confirmed with other instruments.

From the early 1960s, the mythical American astronomer Frank Drake had already started a month-long initial and rudimentary listening of the sky with the Green Bank radio telescope, without any tangible result. Died on September 22, he will have received no confirmation that his intuition was correct.