Astronomers discover intense and mysterious radio signal. Here’s what it means

SALT LAKE CITY — Astronomers spotted a mysterious radio signal floating through space, and they’re unsure what it means.

Patrick Boyle from Canada’s McGill University posted an observationon The Astronomer’s Telegram, an accredited website where astronomers can post their observations, that said a radio telescope called the Canadian Hydrogen Mapping Intensity Experiment (CHIME) saw a mysterious fast radio burst, which is a collection of radio waves arriving from beyond the Milky Way galaxy, USA Today reported.

The astronomers detected the FRB to have a frequency of 580 megahertz, which is the lowest detective frequency to date.

However, plenty of past examples prove this mysterious radio signal could be nothing since it hasn’t been verified yet.

For example, Australian researchers thought they discovered a radio signal in 1998. But 17 years later, they discovered the signal was from a microwave, according to ScienceAlert.

Similarly, an astronomer said on The Telegram he discovered a bright star, which was later revealed to be the planet Mars.

“So while these are genuine detections, it’s important to note that they haven’t been peer reviewed as yet and independent teams haven’t verified that the signals are from space,” ScienceAlert reported.

According to USA Today, astronomers discovered fast radio bursts in 2007, though they’re unsure about where they originated.

“Earlier this year, astronomers claimed they were close to determining the sources of these bursts,” according to USA Today. “However, they could not rule out the possibility it is a high-powered signal from an advanced alien civilization.”

According to ScienceAlert, the waves likely come from billions of light-years away. Whatever causes them likely contains a lot of energy.

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