Astronomers detect radio signals from nearby star

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In May, radio astronomers at the Arecibo radio telescope in Puerto Rico pointed their Brobdingnagian antenna in the direction of Ross 128. The researchers’ interest was to learn if they could measure any natural radio emissions from this very close (11 light-years) dwarf. Such stars are known to act up, and the turbulent flares that erupt from their surfaces produce radio static. The hope was that small changes in such emission might offer clues to planets whose magnetic fields might perturb these stellar storms. (Note that Ross 128 does not have any known planets, but that doesn’t guarantee there aren’t any.

What the Puerto Rican astronomers found when the data were analyzed was a wide-band radio signal. This signal not only repeated with time, but also slid down the radio dial, somewhat like a trombone going from a higher note to a lower one.

That was odd, indeed. And the discoverers, led by Abel Mendez at the University of Puerto Rico, immediately enlisted the help of other astronomical observatories to keep watch on Ross 128. They suspected one of three possible causes for the radio noise: (1) Flares from the star, as above; (2) other background astronomical source, or (3) terrestrial interference, most likely from some artificial satellite. A deliberate transmission from intelligent beings on a planet near the star is another possibility of course, but was at the bottom of their list.

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