Public Opinion Buzzes Over China’s Discovery of Strange Signals Possibly from Extraterrestrial Life, While Some U.S. Officials State: “Aliens May Have Come to Earth.”
Scientists believe that life similar to ours exists somewhere in the vast Milky Way galaxy. Throughout history, many countries around the world have unveiled research information thought to be related to extraterrestrial beings.
Strange Signals from Space
Recently, Chinese scientists announced that their giant telescope, “Sky Eye”, may have captured trace signals from an alien civilization. The signals were received by China’s 500-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope, known as “Sky Eye,” which is the largest radio telescope in the world.
Because the signals are narrowband radio waves typically used by aircraft and satellites, scientists believe they could be generated by extraterrestrial technology.
However, experts caution that their findings are preliminary and should be approached with caution until further analysis is completed.
Zhang Tongjie, the head of the Extraterrestrial Civilization Research Group at Beijing Normal University, shared with Science and Technology Daily: “These are some narrowband electromagnetic signals different from those previously received, and the research team is currently conducting further investigations.”
“The possibility that the suspicious signal is a type of radio interference is also very high and requires further verification and exclusion. This could be a lengthy process,” he added.
In a recent report sent to the Science and Technology Daily, Zhang Tongjie indicated that the suspicious signal may not originate from extraterrestrial beings but could simply be due to radio interference.
It is possible that the Science and Technology Daily hastily published news and conclusions about signs of extraterrestrial civilization after receiving unverified strange signals.
This is not the first time scientists have received narrowband radio signals from deep space.
In August 1977, a Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) conducted by Ohio State University’s Big Ear telescope detected a powerful one-minute electromagnetic burst at a frequency suspected to be used by extraterrestrial civilizations.
Upon discovering the signal on a data printout, scientist Jerry Ehman worked and observed further from the Big Ear telescope that very night to gather additional data for analysis.
However, subsequent searches in that region of space returned empty-handed, and later studies suggested the signal might have originated from a sun-like star in the Sagittarius constellation. To this day, the source of the signal remains a mystery.
In 2019, astronomers detected a signal transmitted to Earth from Proxima Centauri, the closest star system to our Sun (about 4.2 light-years away). Scientists indicated that this is a place with at least one potentially habitable planet.
The signal is a narrowband radio wave typically associated with human-made objects, leading experts to speculate that it could originate from extraterrestrial technology.
New studies published two years later suggested that the signal was likely generated by malfunctioning human technology.
Additionally, another famous set of signals believed to be from extraterrestrial origins was detected between 2011 and 2014, later discovered to be caused by scientists reheating lunch in a microwave.
Tongjie added that his team plans to repeat observations of the strange signals to definitively rule out all radio interference and gather as much information as possible about them.
In a statement to Science and Technology Daily, scientist Tongjie expressed: “We hope the FAST telescope will be the first to detect and confirm the existence of extraterrestrial civilizations.”
The discrepancy between the vastness and age of the universe and the apparent lack of intelligent life beyond Earth—known as the Fermi Paradox—has long posed a challenge for scientists studying the cosmos.
This paradox derives its name from the casual lunchtime musings of Nobel Prize-winning physicist Enrico Fermi, who, after contemplating the puzzling question, is said to have remarked, “Where is everybody?”
“Perhaps Aliens Have Fallen to Earth”
On May 17, the U.S. Congress held a hearing regarding government information related to “unidentified aerial phenomena” (UAP).
Discussions during the recent hearing revolved around the potential threats posed by UAPs, as the U.S. government suspects they may be advanced human-made technology posing risks to American airspace. However, some lawmakers and military personnel suspect they could be of extraterrestrial origin.
As Republican Congressman Tim Burchett stated before the hearing: “Perhaps aliens have fallen to Earth, and the U.S. government is just covering it up.”
For over a decade, scientists have used radio telescopes to conduct various experiments in search of technological structures—considered signs of detecting other civilizations in the galaxy.
Although scientists believe that life is almost certainly present among the trillions of planets in the universe, its vast volume makes interstellar travel, signal reception, or communication with any potential life forms at great distances exceedingly difficult according to the physical laws currently known to humanity.
The reason cited is that the speed limit is the speed of light, approximately 300,000 km/s. But even at that speed, signals would take about 4 years to travel between Earth and the closest star in the galaxy.
Einstein’s theory of special relativity tells us that, in reality, the speed of a physical object like a spaceship is slower than the speed of light.
Thus, for planets hundreds or thousands of light-years away, travel time could extend to thousands of years. And any signal originating from civilizations on those planets would be extremely weak and difficult to detect.
A question raised by scientists is whether we think an alien spacecraft could travel for thousands of years, crossing the distances between stars, being more powerful and better designed than our aircraft?
Thanks to continuous radar scanning of space, billions of mobile phone cameras, and hundreds of thousands of amateur astronomers photographing the sky (as well as professional astronomers using powerful telescopes), there is a need for substantial credible evidence about extraterrestrials in the hands of the public and scientists, not just governments.
Project Blue Book Reports Possible Sightings of Flying Saucers
The first sighting of a UFO by humans occurred in 1947 when businessman Kenneth Arnold claimed he saw a group of 9 high-speed objects near Mount Rainier in Washington while piloting his small aircraft in the sky.
Arnold estimated the speed of the crescent-shaped objects to be several thousand miles per hour and stated that they moved “like discs gliding on water.”
In 1948, the U.S. Air Force began an investigation into these reports known as Project Blue Book. The initial opinions of project participants suggested that the unidentified flying objects (UFOs) were likely advanced aircraft from the former Soviet Union.
However, some researchers believed they could be spacecraft from other worlds, known as extraterrestrial hypothesis (ETH).
From 1952 to 1969, Project Blue Book compiled reports of over 12,000 sightings of strange phenomena categorized into two types.
Type 1 included astronomical, atmospheric, or artificial phenomena, while Type 2 involved cases lacking sufficient information to identify a known phenomenon.
Strange Phenomena Occur Near U.S. National Airport
During the summer of 1952, a series of radar and unusual sightings occurred near National Airport in Washington, D.C. Radar detected multiple strange objects on the screen. Although these events were attributed to temperature discrepancies in the city’s atmosphere.
Meanwhile, the number of UFO reports has surged to a record high. This prompted the Central Intelligence Agency to compel the U.S. government to establish a panel of experts, including scientists, to investigate these phenomena.
The panel, known as the Robertson Panel, was led by physicist H.P. Robertson from the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, California, along with several other physicists, an astronomer, and a rocket engineer.
The Robertson Panel convened for three days in 1953, interviewing military officers and the heads of Project Blue Book while reviewing films and photographs of UFO sightings.
The panel’s conclusion stated that 90% of reported sightings of strange phenomena can be attributed to astronomical and meteorological occurrences, such as planets, bright stars, meteors, auroras, and ion clouds, or terrestrial objects like airplanes, balloons, and birds.
Additionally, there was no clear security threat identified and no evidence supporting the Extraterrestrial Hypothesis (ETH). Parts of the panel’s report remained classified until 1979, and the lengthy period of secrecy has fueled suspicions of a government cover-up.
