Aliens ‘sent signals to earth from a far-away solar system similar to our own’, sleuths claim – ending 45-year mystery
A MYSTERIOUS signal sent to Earth by “Aliens” nearly half a century ago came from a far-away solar system similar to our own, a scientist has claimed.
Known as the “Wow!” signal, the strange minute-long burst of radio energy was received on August 15, 1977 – and it stumped scientists for years.
The name of the message came after astronomer Jerry Ehman wrote the words next to a printout of the data.
Scientists were left stunned as the “Wow!” signal was 20 times stronger than average background emissions.
It is still considered to be one of the best signals picked up by SETI, or search for extraterrestrial intelligence, telescopes.
Researchers hunting for signs of alien life have long thought it could have been Earth’s first contact with another form of life.
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And 45 years later, astronomer Alberto Caballero believes he has finally found the signal’s source.
He isolated a star which is roughly the same size as the Sun where he thinks the signal came from.
Caballero took on the mammoth task of combing through images of the galaxy collected by the European Space Agency’s Gaia mission.
The astronomer narrowed the search down to two areas where the signal could have come from.
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One of the potential sources was identified due to its similarities to our Sun.
Listed as 2MASS 19281982-2640123, the star is an almost identical match in terms of its size and temperature.
The star is located 1,800 light-years from Earth – and it has a solar analogue that makes it the most likely area for an alien signal.
It’s thought a signal sent from such a huge distance would take centuries to reach Earth.
Caballero said the search for the signal is also a search “for life as we know it”.
He told Live Science: “The Wow! Signal is considered the best SETI candidate radio signal that we have picked up with our telescopes.”
But he admitted the “Wow!” signal most likely came from some kind of natural event and not aliens.
No planets have been found in orbit around the star yet – but the discovery could be the first step in the hunt for other life forms in space.
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Any planets found could be searched for signs of life.
Caballero’s findings appeared May 6 in the International Journal of Astrobiology.