Weird signals keep reaching Earth from across the Galaxy
Repeating radio signals from space—some pulsing every 1.4 hours—have been traced to unusual star systems, including a white dwarf paired with another star. A student astronomer’s discovery of an Earth-sized white dwarf emitting signals every 84 minutes challenges existing theories. Meanwhile, a SETI study warns turbulence around M-dwarf stars may mask alien transmissions by scattering narrowband signals across wider frequencies.
What changed
New findings confirm specific star systems as sources, while a SETI study introduces a potential explanation for why some signals evade detection.
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Astronomers pinpoint strange cosmic radio signals to rare star systems
confidence 88%Repeating radio signals from space—some pulsing every 1.4 hours—have been traced to unusual star systems, including a white dwarf paired with another star. A student astronomer’s discovery of an Earth-sized white dwarf emitting signals every 84 minutes challenges existing theories. Meanwhile, a SETI study warns turbulence around M-dwarf stars may mask alien transmissions by scattering narrowband signals across wider frequencies.
What's confirmed:
- A student astronomer identified a rare system emitting radio signals every 84 minutes, involving an Earth-sized white dwarf paired with another star, challenging current astronomical models.
- A repeating radio signal detected since 2005, pulsing every 1.4 hours, has been linked to a binary star system with clashing magnetic fields.
- Unusual star systems, such as those with accreting white dwarfs, may act as natural laboratories for understanding transient cosmic radio events.
- Turbulent plasma and stellar storms around M-dwarf stars—the most common in the Milky Way—could scatter narrowband radio signals, making them harder for traditional searches to detect.
- A mysterious repeating signal from space has been traced to a white dwarf star system, offering a natural explanation over speculative theories.
Still unconfirmed:
- A 'Rosetta stone' for cosmic signals may have been found, though specifics remain under review.
- Scientists scanned the interstellar object 3I/ATLAS for artificial signals but found none, though the study is limited to June 2026 data.
- Some signals from a dead galaxy may represent unknown phenomena, but their origin remains unconfirmed.