Given the vast and unfathomable nature of the universe, there really is no way of telling how, when, or even if we’ll eventually make contact with life not of this earth.
There seems to be a general consensus that, according to the math on the subject, there is life elsewhere in the universe; that’s not the issue here. What we don’t know is what sort of conditions this life evolved under, whether or not they are yet intelligent or merely swamp algae, or it they are even technology capable of traveling around the galaxy.
But, there are some clues out there, and one of them seems to be arriving to earth every 16 days.
Astronomers from around the world have long been fascinated by the mysterious radio signals bombarding our planet from deep in outer space, with some onlookers linking them to a possible extraterrestrial intelligence.
A new study by an international team of scientists led by astronomers at the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment Fast Radio Burst Project (CHIME/FRB) in British Columbia has discovered that a mystery radio source in a galaxy some 500 million lightyears from our solar system is sending out fast radio bursts like clockwork in 16.35 day cycles, including 1-2 bursts per hour over a four day period and then 12 days of silence before starting up again.
The galaxy from which these signals are emanating appears to be approximately 500 million light years away.
This isn’t the first time that radio signals from the distant heavens have been detected on earth, but this latest anomaly’s consistent and predictable pattern makes it all the more intriguing.
