The reason for many assumptions about the existence of extraterrestrial life was fast radio bursts, about which astronomers have not yet formulated a complete theory. According to one of the experts, it is natural for people to see aliens behind every cosmic secret, since they have a so-called "intentional bias", which, in fact, kept the human race alive.
In the 400 years since Galileo Galilei first lifted a telescope to the heavens, astronomers have uncovered some of the deepest mysteries of the cosmos. They saw comets crashing into planets, found oceans beneath the surface of the moons, and observed the tremors of the space-time continuum as black holes collide.
But space remains the kingdom of the unknown. In a material released Thursday in the journal Nature, it is said that scientists in Canada have reported the discovery of mysterious radio signals from the center of the universe. This is just the second case of fast repetitive radio bursts or FRBs.
Astronomers have yet to formulate a complete theory of what creates these mysterious fast beams of electromagnetic waves. And in the absence of a solid explanation, various kinds of assumptions, probably inevitably, have slipped to the topic of the existence of alien civilizations. Harvard astronomer Avi Loeb theorized that FRBs could be powerful energy beams used to propel alien spaceships.
This is not the first time that the origin of insufficiently well-studied space phenomena is attributed to the hard work of aliens. When, in 2015, astronomers noticed a star at a distance of 1.5 thousand light years, which either dimmed or became brighter, the researchers suggested that an "alien megastructure" could revolve around it, thus obtaining energy for its creators. Then, when the massive cigar-shaped asteroid Oumuamua, known to be the first discovered interstellar object to do so, passed through the solar system in 2017, it was speculated that it was a distressed spacecraft.
Chris French, head of anomalistic psychology research at University of London's Goldsmiths College, said it's natural for humans to see aliens behind every cosmic mystery. “We have so-called intentional bias,” he said. “It’s the assumption that whenever something happens, it’s something someone did for some reason. In the context of space, this "someone" is always aliens."
An evolutionary argument for intentional bias, or "agency", is that our ancient ancestors felt better if rustling in the bushes made them run for cover rather than assume it was the wind. “After all, our brains evolved to keep us alive, not to comprehend the mysteries of the universe,” said French.
The late astronomer Carl Sagan drew attention to the dilemma facing scientists. They can be considered eccentric if they are too open to new ideas, but they can also miss important discoveries if they are not open enough. “It seems to me that there is a delicate balance between these two conflicting needs,” he said. "The most skeptical test of all the hypotheses put forward and at the same time a significant openness to new ideas."
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West Virginia University astrophysicist Duncan Lorimer discovered the first FRB in 2007. When his team caught the radio signal, the likelihood that this message from aliens was certainly present. “We were definitely thinking about aliens,” he said. - We only had one object. We looked for patterns in the signal and couldn't find anything, but we definitely looked at that."
Now mentions of aliens are starting to appear less and less. “It helps sell the story, but at the moment it makes me roll my eyes a little,” he said. Many astronomers now support the notion that FRBs are intense beams of radiation emitted by charged particles orbiting highly magnetized neutron stars. “This seems like a more plausible explanation, but I don't want to completely rule out aliens,” he said. "I've been wrong before."
Ian Sample