BLC1
BLC1 (Breakthrough Listen Candidate 1) is a candidate SETI radio signal announced in December 2020, possibly coming from the star Proxima Centauri.[1][2][3] The apparent shift in its frequency, consistent with the Doppler effect, is however inconsistent with what would be caused by the movement of Proxima b, a planet of Proxima Centauri.[4][5]
The Doppler shift in the signal is the opposite of what would be expected from the earth's spin, in that the signal increases in frequency rather than decreases.[6] Although the signal was detected by Parkes Radio Telescope during observations of Proxima Centauri, due to the beam angle of Parkes Radio telescope, the signal should more accurately be described as coming from the direction of Proxima Centauri, not from it. The signal has a frequency of 982.002 MHz.[7]
The radio signal was detected during 30 hours of observations conducted by Breakthrough Listen through the Parkes Observatory in Australia in April and May 2019.[8][9] As of December 2020, follow-up observations have failed to detect the signal again, a step necessary to confirm that the signal was a technosignature.
See also
References
- ^ Drake, Nadia (2020-12-18). "Alien hunters detect mysterious radio signal from nearby star". National Geographic. Retrieved 2020-12-19.
- ^ Whitwam, Ryan (23 December 2020). "Astronomers Spot Potentially Artificial Radio Signal From Nearby Star". ExtremeTech. Retrieved 23 December 2020.
- ^ "Did Proxima Centauri Just Call to Say Hello? Not Really!". SETI Institute. Retrieved 2020-12-23.
- ^ https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/alien-hunters-discover-mysterious-signal-from-proxima-centauri/
- ^ Sample, Ian (2020-12-18). "Scientists looking for aliens investigate radio beam 'from nearby star'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2020-12-19.
- ^ "BLC1: A candidate signal around Proxima". Penn State U - blog Jason Wright.
- ^ https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/alien-hunters-discover-mysterious-signal-from-proxima-centauri/
- ^ Overbye, Dennis (31 December 2020). "Was That a Dropped Call From ET? - A spooky radio signal showed up after a radio telescope was aimed at the next star over from our sun". The New York Times. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
- ^ "Breakthrough Initiatives". breakthroughinitiatives.org. Retrieved 2020-12-19.
External links
- "A Signal from Proxima Centauri?". SETI Institute. Retrieved 2020-12-20.
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