Breakthrough Listen detects 15 radio bursts from a distant galaxy while searching for alien civilisations

Breakthrough Listen, the largest ever project undertaken to search the skies for signs of intelligent extraterrestrials, has detected 15 fast radio bursts from a distant galaxy. There are two potential explanations for the origins of the fast radio bursts, or FRBs. One explanation is that the FRBs could originate from rapidly spinning neutron stars with unusually strong magnetic fields. The other possible explanation is that it is the kind of pulses required to power interstellar spacecraft, a possibility also proposed by researchers from Harvard.[caption id="attachment_3994095" align="aligncenter" width="1080"] An artist's illustration of a light-sail powered by a radio beam (red) generated on the surface of a planet. Image: M. Weiss/CfA[/caption]The source of the pulses has been identified as FRB 121102, which is the only known source to repeatedly send the high energy radio bursts. The source of the FRBs is a dwarf galaxy 3 billion light years away from the Earth. Breakthrough Listen researcher Vishal Gajjar says, "As well as confirming that the source is in a newly active state, the high resolution of the data obtained by the Listen instrument will allow measurement of the properties of these mysterious bursts at a higher precision than ever possible before."If the source is actually an intelligent alien race, then the FRBs could be used to power a small interstellar spacecraft with solar sails. The Breakthrough Starshot is an initiative to send a fleet of small interstellar spacecraft to the closest stellar neighbour, Alpha Centauri, using ground based lasers for propulsion. The new finding shows that the FRBs could also exist in frequencies higher than previously observed. Irrespective of whether the Breakthrough Listen project actually results in finding an extraterrestrial civilisations, it will increase the understanding of the universe through its observations.