Something strange is going on at the star closest to the sun. A secret radio signal comes from Proxima Centauri, which is too small to be seen from Earth with the naked eye. Despite being too small for us to see from Earth, it is a cosmic stone throw at just 4.2 light years away. A secret signal comes from the star, which was found in archive data collected last year.
The signal was discovered this fall and appears to be from the direction of Proxima Centauri. Until now, researchers could not dismiss the signal as an intervention from Earth. While the discovery of a strange signal from a nearby star certainly offers interesting opportunities, scientists have warned the project, there is still a lot of work to be done.
Researcher Andrew Siemion of the University of California, Berkeley has said the brand has properties that have led it to pass many studies to date, and cannot be explained. One of the most unusual aspects of the signal is that it takes up a narrow radio spectrum of 982 megahertz. That is a range of spectra that is usually empty of any movements from human satellites and spacecraft.
The researcher says that there is no known natural way to compress electromagnetic energy into a single-band frequency. Siemion says there may be some unknown plasma physics work that could account for the signal. However, he admits that, for now, technology is the only known source for such a brand.
The signal was discovered by a project called Breakthrough Listen led by Siemion and supported by tech billionaire Yuri Milner. The aim of the project is to buy time on radio telescopes around the world, specifically to find evidence for technological civilizations in the wider world.