Over the past several years, telescopes have been picking up mysterious radio wave flashes, apparently from far outside our galaxy. Some scientists are seriously asking whether they might be from some sort of out-of-this-world technology.
Kelly Beatty (@NightSkyGuy) is a senior editor at Sky and Telescope magazine and is convinced that aliens are not behind it.
KELLY BEATTY: So, the reason this discussion is happening is that the pulses have a sort of numerical repetition to them that gives cause. The problem is there’s only 11 of them, and they fit this pattern—small number statistics. And what they haven’t told you is that there are five more waiting to be published that don’t fit the pattern.
JIM BRAUDE: But I read in the New York Times in preparation for this today, that there are billions with a “b,” billions of habitable planets, is the term the Times used, maybe more planets than stars in this galaxy. So even if it is not these radio bursts—I assume you’re a statistical guy; the odds are that somewhere…yes, no?
BEATTY: Absolutely, but that doesn’t mean it is intelligent life; that doesn’t mean they have radio transmitters. The late Carl Sagan said, “Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.” And I think we’re too willing to make the leap to, “Well, we don’t understand it; therefore it must be aliens.” In this case, it has to be some underlying natural cause, or maybe it’s even like interference. All but one of these pulses have come from the same radio telescope in Australia. Coincidence?
BRAUDE: But wait so, what is the significance of that? For the layperson, me.
BEATTY: So maybe there’s some guy with a ham radio, you know, out in the outback, who is transmitting and leaking into this radio telescope.
BRAUDE: Did you tell kids that Santa Claus wasn’t real when they were two?
BEATTY: I told kids that when they meet Santa Claus in person, he is going to be the real deal.
BRAUDE: One of the things I read about this whole notion about scientists, people like you, finding out if there really is life out there, that we have essentially been waiting to hear, as essentially receivers. And then there is this whole debate in the community in which you live and work about whether or not we should be affirmative in this, reaching out. And then I read that there’s some concern about that. Because if we reach out and we’re successful, it’s possible that the only kind of society that would be sophisticated enough to receive those messages is one that might not be that kind when they find out We’re here. Do you subscribe to that notion?
BEATTY: Here we are, tasty treats.
BRAUDE: I’m serious! My attitude is, go for it.
BEATTY: There is a flip side to that. It’s called the celestial zoo hypothesis, which is if there are aliens, then they have the Star Trek mentality. They’ll come and observe but not interfere.
