Did You Know About: The BLC1 Signal

A few years ago now, in 2019, one of the radio telescopes at the Parkes Observatory in Australia picked up something interesting in its search for clues that would solve the question of whether there is someone else out there. This signal was known as BLC1.

Radio telescope at Parkes Observatory in Australia. Source

The signal was captured for a long time: 3 hours. Unfortunately it was not picked up again, which in most cases is a requirement to be able to give a good explanation of its artificial origin. Although, if we think about it, the times that we have intentionally sent messages to space we have done it only once.

The frequency of the signal was 982.002 MHZ. Most radio telescopes that track space for artificial signals do so at a slightly higher frequency of 1420.4056 MHZ. This frequency corresponds to neutral hydrogen and they assume that an advanced civilization would determine, as we do, that this is an "optimal frequency for signal emission and reception" frequency.

According to its wave displacement, it appeared to come from the Proxima centauri system. This system is quite close (of course, if we could travel at the speed of light) at about 4.2 light-years. And it even has a couple of planets hanging around it.

Proxima Centauri. Source

Of course, detecting a signal different from all records does not instantly indicate proof of intelligent life outside terrestrial boundaries. It is just an unknown signal that could even be of local origin. For that it must be ascertained in detail, and that is what astronomers do, considering and ruling out explanations, before determining its possible origin. For example, some Perytons signals were once somewhat unusual until it was determined that they were produced by microwave ovens.

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator