'There could be more out there': Mysterious radio bursts coming from space
Mysterious radio bursts detected deep in space could be evidence of aliens, researchers suggest.
The fast radio bursts are bright pulses of radio emission milliseconds in duration, which release as much energy as the sun does in 80 years.
Scientists are unsure where the bursts originate, but believe they are created by black holes or super-dense neutron stars, according to the Press Association.
Harvard-Smithsonian Centre for Astrophysics Professor Avid Loeb said the bursts could be evidence of alien technology.
In October researchers used a radio telescope in Australia to nearly double the number of known fast radio bursts.
Dr Ryan Shannon from Swinburne University of Technology said 20 fast radio bursts were detected in a year, “almost doubling the number detected worldwide since they were discovered in 2007”.
Dr Ingrid Stairs, from the University of British Columbia in Canada, told the Press Association the repeated fast radio bursts suggests “there could be more out there”.
“And with more repeaters and more sources available for study, we may be able to understand these cosmic puzzles – where they’re from and what causes them,” he said.
The Press Association reports Professor Loeb and Harvard colleague Manasvi Lingham suggested the fast radio bursts could be a result of a leakage from planet-sized alien transmitters.
