For over three decades now, astronomers have been monitoring a weird mysterious phenomenon coming from deep space-a pattern of radio signal that repeats every 22 minutes. The mystery has confused a lot of scientists for its origin or even nature is not explained by any known cosmic process. After a lot of research, the source of this strange signal continues to be unknown, and there is growing speculation about just how it was actually created.
What lies behind this mysterious mystery? Is it perhaps a cosmic natural event or is something else, beyond the cosmos, associated with it?
The Discovery of the Signal
The strange radio signal was first detected in the late 1980s, when astronomers started finding faint but periodic energy bursts coming from a remote region of space. At first, the signal was deemed to be an anomaly-one-time shot from a distant pulsar or black hole. However, years later, it continued, repeating like clockwork every 22 minutes.
This signal has been very consistent and unlike any cosmic radio emissions. It is often random and sometimes with a huge difference in intensity. It then followed a near perfect cycle of 22 minutes between each burst, thereby setting this signal really unique from other phenomena found in space.
Why does this signal stand out?
Astronomical signals are no new phenomenon: space is full of odd and energetic emissions, including pulsars and fast radio bursts, which send out regular pulses of radio waves and short, high-intensity flashes of energy. But what makes this 22-minute signal mysterious is the fact that it has persisted for such a long period at regular intervals. The majority of radio emissions are either short-lived or occur at irregular intervals. The scientists have rarely encountered such long-lasting emission for so long a time.
More importantly, the signal type is inconsistent with what is expected from the large majority of natural radio wave emitters. Signals from pulsars have properties varying with their rotational period and magnetic field strength; quasars or black hole jets are much more variable. The periodicity at 22 minutes cannot be explained by any of these causes.
The Search for an Explanation
Over the past 35 years, astronomers have employed many tools and techniques to attempt to discern what exactly this signal is. Some hypothesize that the signal may be associated with a neutron star-a byproduct from the extremely dense remains of a supernova that resulted when an extremely massive star imploded upon itself. Neutron stars are known to have powerful radio emissions; however, the precisely timed and long duration of the signal has led most astronomers to doubt this explanation.
Another hypothesis is that the signal is coming from a magnetar-a neutron star with an extremely high magnetic field. Magnetars can produce bursts of energy that are very powerful, and this could account for why we see a periodic source, but if the source is a magnetar, then X-rays or gamma rays are usually produced intensely, and the signal we are observing is present only in the radio, so this is not possible.
Is It Extraterrestrial?
But because the cause is not easy to identify in nature, some astronomers and scientists have begun taking a slightly more speculative approach. Could this be an artificial signal from an advanced extraterrestrial civilization? It is science fiction to imagine such a scenario, after all; everyone has flipped through a good interstellar relationship soap, where some wise, friendly alien people were sending regular radio signals to the cosmos, with which Earth's intelligence could then interact. But even that is not purely science fiction. Scientists claim they are seriously working on discovering or proving some evidence that intelligent beings exist elsewhere in the universe. One of the projects searching for such a sign is the SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) program.
Some scientists take it to the extreme of suggesting
that the signal might be yet another beacon-a transmission designed to
purposely convey a message across the stars. Although highly speculative,
accuracy and repetition of the signal have sparked talk that might feed such
speculation in the scientific community. Should it be an artificial signal, it
would be the first ever detected.
Existing Efforts to Unravel the Mystery
And still, decades of observation continue to leave astronomers mystified about the origin of that 22-minute radio signal. Powerful arrays-the Arecibo Observatory, pre-collapse (2020), and the Very Large Array-have trained on the general region of its likely source, but the findings still leave it inconclusive.
Recently, a potential tool for an even closer look at the region has been discussed: the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). Better than ever before, this JWST may finally shed new light upon the unknown origin of this radio signal.
The scientific community meanwhile surmises and debates the origin of the signal. Some argue that it might still be a natural phenomenon not yet understood; others leave room open for something more extraordinary.
How Things May Go from Here: The Future of the Mystery
The 22-minute radio signal remains, however, an enigma. Whether it is a natural cosmic event or a signal from an advanced civilization does not matter, since it has fascinated all scientists and most of the common public. And it is to be hoped that as technology becomes more advanced and our understanding of the universe more profound, we shall finally have an explanation for this signal echoing through space over 35 years.
For now, however, the 22-minute signal remains a
profoundly thought-provoking mystery about what the universe might be and where
we lie within. Is this a glimpse of something yet to be seen, or rather a
nagging reminder of how much we may not know about the cosmos? Only time-and
further observation-will tell.
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