The state-of-the-art radio telescope CHIME, recently built in Canada, detected a so-called FRB flash on the evening of July 25, 2018.
The signal came from the constellation Cepheus, which is several billion light-years from Earth.
After carefully checking it, scientists made sure that the signal really comes from somewhere from the depths of space, and did not arise due to interference from terrestrial technology.
FRB stands for Fast Radio Burst, which translates to "fast radio burst". Unofficially, such radio flares are called "signals from extraterrestrials", since according to one version these are signals from an extraterrestrial civilization. In fact, their source is still unknown.
The received signal lasted only a few milliseconds, but it was possible to record it with the supersensitive CHIME technique. He was given the number FRB180725A.
In addition to being a very rare occurrence in itself, this signal is also unique of its kind as it is the first FRB burst below 700 MHz - the lowest FRB frequency ever recorded.
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For the first time, these mysterious bursts of radio emission began to be discussed in 2007, when a similar signal was caught by the Australian Perks telescope. Since then, radio telescopes have managed to catch about two dozen such signals. After that, both scientists and ufologists immediately started talking about the fact that these could be long-awaited signals from extraterrestrial civilizations.
Last spring, astronomers recorded that the early flare of FRB 150418 came from an elliptical galaxy located six billion light-years from the Milky Way. After that, a version appeared that such flares are born during the merger of neutron stars or objects that turn into a black hole.
But when it was found that FRB flares can be repeated, this theory was questioned. Since then, no new theories have emerged about the nature of these cryptic signals.