Are aliens playing Marco Polo with us?

This text is a translationCTV News article.

These powerful bursts of radiation are very common astronomical events and are generally thought to come from dying stars, but the frequency of these outbursts – all from specific regions of deep space – has led scientists to speculate that there may be an extraterrestrial signal. FRBs can give astronomers new insights into what lurks in distant galaxies beyond our reach.

The recurring bursts, containing 10 times the annual energy consumption of the entire world’s population, were captured by the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME) Advanced Telescope between 2019 and 2021, along with countless other non-recurring FRBs that don’t. . It seems to follow any recognizable pattern.

University of Toronto astronomers say the jets studied are mysterious, because they originate from the same place in space and repeat in similar ways.

“We can now accurately calculate the probability that two or more bursts of similar regions are not just a coincidence,” Ziggy Pleunis, a postdoctoral fellow at the Dunlap Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics, said in a University of Toronto news release. “These new tools were essential for this study and will also be very useful for similar research in the future.”

The 25 new duplicate FRBs bring the total number of suspected repeat bursts to 50. They will be about 400 light-years away.

When scientists are able to study bursts from the same location, they can gather specific data that could reveal hidden information about regions of space — and their potential for hosting intelligent life forms in distant galaxies. Plenois explained that by studying the source of the FRB in detail, scientists can trace the life stages of a star and learn more about the matter that is being expelled.

“It is exciting that CHIME/FRB can see multiple flashes from the same locations, as it allows for detailed investigation of their nature,” University of Toronto doctoral student Adize Ipek said in a press release. “We’ve been able to zero in on some of these recurring sources and have already identified possible associated galaxies for two of them.”

Pleunis added that finding some kind of pattern brings us closer to understanding what FRBs are.

While they’re not yet sure if this constitutes evidence of something similar to ET calling home, Pleunis says the discovery of the pattern is promising and there are broader implications to be determined.