Alien-hunting scientists reveal origin of mystery space pulse after year-long probe into surprising ‘distant object'
THE origin of a mysterious pulse emanating from space has finally been revealed by scientists after a year of investigation.
And it's not quite an alien civilisation trying to contact Earth, according to a new study.
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The fast radio burst (FRB), detected at the Australian Square Kilometer Array Pathfinder in June 2024, only lasted less than 30 nanoseconds.
But it was so strong that it surpassed all other signals coming from the sky.
Scientists track these bizarre space signals to understand where they came from - and explanations include everything from black holes to alien technology.
Most FRBs come from deep within space - and so it was assumed this recent powerful signal was too.
However, researchers found that the pulse had been emitted from something much closer to home: a zombie satellite.
The Relay 2, a long-dead NASA satellite, had let out a powerful signal each time it passed over the astronomers' signal detection tools.
The defunct satellite's proximity to Earth, researchers said, made its signal so unusually clear.
Launched by Nasa in 1964, the communications satellite has been stuck in Earth's orbit for decades.
It stopped working less than a year after launch.
Now - the Relay 2 hasn't been emitting signals all this time.
First mission to 'create artificial solar eclipse' using satellites will solve Sun mystery
It has been silent since its transponders broke in 1967, until now.
The research team, which published their findings in research paper archive arXiv, said it is unlikely the satellite has suddenly come back to life.
Instead, astronomers suggested that a build up of static electricity on the spacecraft reached a boiling point and then discharged - firing a pulse of energy over Earth.
Similar discharges have been seen before, the study noted.
Another possibility is that the satellite was hit by a micrometeroid - a small fleck of space rock.
While a micrometeoroid typically measures between a few micrometres to a few millimetres, the speed at which they are hurtling in Earth's orbit means they can exert a fair amount of damage.
If the satellite was struck by such an object, the collision would have released a very small cloud of plasma, according to researchers.
This plasma can magnify an FRB signal, making it seem stronger.
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The Guardian
6 hours ago
- The Guardian
‘It's something that happens': are we doing enough to save Earth from a devastating asteroid strike?
It is a scenario beloved of Hollywood: a huge asteroid, several miles wide, is on a collision course with Earth. Scientists check and recheck their calculations but there is no mistake – civilisation is facing a cataclysmic end unless the space rock can be deflected. It may sound like science fiction, but it is a threat that is being taken seriously by scientists. Earlier this year, researchers estimated that asteroid YR4 2024 had a 3.1% chance of hitting Earth in 2032, before revising that likelihood down to 0.0017%. This week, new data suggested it was more likely to hit the moon, with a probability of 4.3%. If that happens, the 53- to 67-metre (174ft-220ft) asteroid previously called a 'city killer' will launch hundreds of tonnes of debris towards our planet, posing a risk to satellites, spacecraft and astronauts. Before that, in April 2029, 99942 Apophis – an asteroid larger than the Eiffel Tower – will be visible to the naked eye when it passes within 32,000km of Earth. This attention-grabbing close encounter has prompted the UN to designate 2029 as the international year of planetary defence. When it comes to apocalyptic asteroid strikes, there is precedent, of course. Most scientists believe such an event hastened the demise of non-avian dinosaurs 66m years ago. 'This is something that happens,' said Colin Snodgrass, a professor of planetary astronomy at the University of Edinburgh. 'Not very often, but it is something that happens. And it's something that we could potentially do something about.' As Chris Lintott, a professor of astrophysics at the University of Oxford, told the UK parliament's science, innovation and technology committee this week, the risk posed by an asteroid originating beyond our solar system is minimal. Instead, he said, the greater threat comes from those in our cosmic back yard. 'Most asteroids in the solar system exist in the asteroid belt, which is between Mars and Jupiter, but they become disrupted, usually by encounters with either of those planets, and they can move into orbits that cross the Earth,' said Lintott, who presents the long-running BBC astronomy series The Sky at Night. 'Then it's just a case of whether we're in the wrong place at the wrong time.' The chances of an enormous asteroid – the type that did for the dinosaurs – hitting Earth is admittedly low. 'We think there's one of these every 10m to 100m years, probably,' Lintott told the Guardian. 'So I think you'd be right to ignore that when you decide whether to get up on a Thursday morning or not.' Snodgrass said there were 'precisely four' asteroids big enough and close enough to Earth to be considered 'dino-killers', and added: 'We know where they are, and they're not coming anywhere near us.' But damage can also be done by smaller asteroids. According to Nasa, space rocks measuring about one to 20 metres across collided with Earth's atmosphere resulting in fireballs 556 times over 20 years. Many collisions have occurred over the oceans, but not all. 'Chelyabinsk is the best example,' Lintott said. In 2013, a house-sized space rock – thought to have been about 20 metres across – exploded in the air above the Russian city with a force of nearly 30 Hiroshima bombs, producing an airburst that caused significant damage and hundreds of injuries, mostly from broken glass. Less dramatically, in February 2021 a space rock thought to have been just tens of centimetres across broke up in Earth's atmosphere, with fragments landing in the Cotswold town of Winchcombe in the UK. Thankfully, the damage was confined to a splat mark on a driveway. The types of asteroids we should perhaps be most concerned about are those about 140 metres across. According to Nasa, asteroids around that size are thought to hit Earth about once every 20,000 years and have the potential to cause huge destruction and mass casualties. The space agency has a congressional mandate to detect and track near-Earth objects of this size and larger, and a suite of new technological advances are helping them do just that. On Monday, the first images from the Vera C Rubin observatory in Chile were released to the public. This telescope is expected to more than triple the number of known near-earth objects, from about 37,000 to 127,000, over a 10-year period. In just 10 hours of observations, it found seven previously unspotted asteroids that will pass close to the Earth – though none are expected to hit. Also in the offing, though not planned for launch before 2027, is Nasa's near-Earth object (Neo) surveyor. Armed with an array of infrared detectors, this is 'the first space telescope specifically designed to detect asteroids and comets that may be potential hazards to Earth', the agency says. Lintott said: 'Between those two, we should find everything down to about 140 metres.' He said such observations should give scientists up to 10 years' warning of a potential collision. The European Space Agency (Esa) is planning a near-Earth object mission in the infrared (Neomir) satellite. Slated for launch in the early 2030s, this will help detect asteroids heading towards Earth that are at least 20 metres in diameter and obscured by the sun. Assessing the emerging capabilities, Edward Baker, the planetary defence lead at the UK's National Space Operations Centre (NSpOC) at RAF High Wycombe, said: 'I think we're in a good place. I can't see a situation like [the film] Don't Look Up materialising at all – though I wouldn't mind being portrayed by Leonardo DiCaprio.' As our ability to spot near-Earth asteroids increases, Lintott said, we should get used to hearing about asteroids like YR4 2024, which initially seem more likely to hit Earth before the risk rapidly falls towards zero. He described the shifting probabilities as similar to when a footballer takes a free kick. 'The moment they kick it, [it looks like] it could go anywhere,' he said. 'And then as it moves, you get more information. So you're like: 'Oh, it might go in the goal,' and then it inevitably becomes really clear that it's going to miss.' Of course, scientists aren't just monitoring the risks to Earth. They are also making plans to protect it. In 2022, Nasa crashed a spacecraft into a small, harmless asteroid called Dimorphos that orbits a larger rock called Didymos to test whether it would be possible to shift its path. The Dart mission was a success, reducing Dimorphos's 12-hour orbit around Didymos by 32 minutes. In 2024, Esa launched a follow-up to Nasa's Dart mission, called Hera. This will reach Dimorphos in 2026 and carry out a close-up 'crash site investigation'. It will survey the Dart impact crater, probe how effectively momentum was transferred in the collision and record a host of other measurements. Esa hopes this will provide crucial insights that can be used to make deliberate Dart-style impacts a reliable technique for safeguarding Earth. 'Dart was much more effective than anyone expected it to be,' Lintott said. 'And presumably that's something to do with the structure of the asteroid. I think we need to know whether Dart just got lucky with its target, or whether all near-Earth asteroids are like this.' For the most part, scientists say the threat of an asteroid strike does not keep them up at night. 'We're safer than we've ever been and we're about to get a lot safer, because the more of these things we find, the more we can spot them on the way in,' Lintott said. As Esa has quipped on its merchandise: 'Dinosaurs didn't have a space agency.'
Daily Mirror
6 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
Huge asteroid hurtles towards the Moon and could spark 'massive consequences'
NASA says the 10-storey YR4 asteroid could hit the Moon in 2032, which could see global communications come to a complete standstill as debris makes its way into the atmosphere and destroys satellites A huge asteroid that was thought to be heading towards earth is actually on course for the moon - which could wreak digital havoc across the planet. The city killer YR4 asteroid - which is the size of a 10-storey building - was first spotted at the end of 2024 and was said to have a three per cent chance of hitting the Earth. NASA's Centre for Near Earth Object Studies has now adjusted its prediction, giving the asteroid a 4.3 per cent chance of smashing into the moon as early as 2032. What makes it more terrifying is that the probability has been steadily increasing, after NASA gave it a 3.8 per cent probability in April and 1.7 per cent in February. According to experts, if the rock did make contact with the moon, it would have similar fallout to an atomic bomb. Scientists believe it would spark a meteor shower that could threaten our satellite systems. Australian National University astrologist and cosmologist, Brad Tucker, said just because the asteroid is no longer heading for Earth, it could still cause irreparable damage to the planet. 'So, when the odds shifted away from the earth they shifted towards the moon, it's still only four per cent - it's not even four per cent [it's] just about that - it's almost 1 in 25. That's enough that you want to pay attention to,' Mr Tucker said. It's unlikely that any fragments would plummeted to Earth, there is a possibility that some debris could enter our atmosphere - putting a number of vital satellites at risk of destruction. 'We're not worried about it hitting the ground because it would be so small our atmosphere would absorb it; there's actually a worry it may hit all of those satellites that we have going around us and that would cause a problem,' Mr Tucker tells Sky Australia. 'There could be a massive consequence in relation to them breaking up and creating their own ring of debris. We shouldn't just think about the earth in terms of safety, we really must think about the Moon as well.' Mr Tucker explained that new studies show how a strike with the moon could see huge amounts of debris being pulled into the atmosphere. Once there, it would make it 1,000 times more likely for a satellite to be hit. 'So it's one of those downward scenarios where we are thinking because of the way earth is now set up it actually may still have an impact," he said. In the event of a satellite strike, the sudden loss could wreak havoc on the ground. Global connectivity would be completely lost, as would navigation systems, financial markets and military operations. YR4 would be the largest space rock to hit the Moon in around 5,000 years, according to solar system dynamics expert Dr Paul Wiegert. Its collosal size means it would easily take out a space station or satellite, he said.
The Guardian
a day ago
- The Guardian
Public trust in science has been eroded, from Covid-19 to climate
Jane Qiu rightly identifies that public trust in science has diminished in recent times (The Covid 'lab leak' theory isn't just a rightwing conspiracy – pretending that's the case is bad for science, 25 June), but she misses some root causes. Scientists and the media often don't differentiate or clearly distinguish between hypotheses, initial findings and accepted scientific understanding when publishing information, leaving the reader/listener confused. The media get viewers, readers or clicks (money); the scientist potentially gets interest that leads to longer tenure or funding. The public gets confused when a report is later refuted or overturned. Universities and the scientists employed by them used to be largely government-funded and independent of industry and politics. Now they are competing for government and private funds and are willing to muddy the waters around hypotheses, preliminary findings and peer-reviews. By doing so they are playing into the hands of anti-science groups. Scientists are now as market-oriented as any other professionals, and it isn't doing society any good. Why believe climate science when the boffins can't even agree on how Covid-19 arose?Steven LeeFaulconbridge, New South Wales, Australia Jane Qiu makes a lot of excellent points. But it is not fair to imply that blame for mistrust in science lies with scientists themselves. It lies with the populist right, and decades of sustained and largely baseless attacks on scientific integrity. Climate denial, anti-vaxxing and lockdown scepticism are three major examples. As well as manufacturing doubt, these bad actors remove any nuance from public debate – reducing complex issues to a binary shouting match. Meanwhile, climate denial has taught us that even statements in private emails can be ripped out of context and splashed across the global media, to promote a false narrative. In such an environment, any communication with the public on contentious issues is a minefield, and it is hardly surprising that many conscientious scientists avoid it. Scientists need to communicate openly and honestly with the public, but we need support from the media, challenging anti-science voices instead of platforming them. Only then can we achieve the sort of thoughtful and honest discussion of scientific evidence that the public deserves. Dr Richard MilneEdinburgh Have an opinion on anything you've read in the Guardian today? Please email us your letter and it will be considered for publication in our letters section.
