Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Thursday, Oct 02, 2025

Scientists think aliens are trying to contact Earth after detecting five new radio bursts from space

Scientists think aliens are trying to contact Earth after detecting five new radio bursts from space

Scientists think that aliens from 4 billion light years away could be trying to contact the Earth via fast radio bursts.
For decades, humans have been divided on whether alien life truly exists. However, according to newly-released research, cosmic lifeforms may have been recently trying to contact the Earth.

Joeri van Leeuwen at the University of Amsterdam has led an international team of astronomers and has published a paper in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics.

In the paper, Professor van Leeuwen and co. recorded five FRBs which were discovered in 2019.

The FRBs were uncovered when the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope in the Netherlands was upgraded.

Westerbork contains 14 25-metre dishes and is fitted with a supercomputer called the Apertif Radio Transient System (ARTS).

The newly-published study reads: “Only through the very high time and frequency resolution of ARTS are these hard-to-find FRBs detected, producing an unbiased view of the intrinsic population properties."

In regard to the upgrades to the Westerbork, Eric Kooistra at the Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy said: “One cannot just go but the complex electronics you need for this.

“We designed most of the system ourselves, with a large team. That resulted in a state-of-the-art machine, one of the most powerful in the world."

Following the upgrade, the Westerbork has been able to pick up FRBs as well as pinpoint the exact locations of the frequencies.

The result has been that over a five-week period in 2019, astronomers found five FRBs. These had travelled roughly 4 billion light years through space.

However, on their way to Earth, three of the five pierced the Triangulum Galaxy. This is a spiral galaxy that is roughly 2.73 million light years from our planet.

The FRBs could originate from black holes, neutron stars or even artificial signals created by intelligent beings. Credit: Pixabay

After heading through the Triangulum Galaxy, the FRBs intersected the Andromeda Galaxy before hitting 'the halos' of our Milky Way.

Each of the FRBs appeared randomly and could originate from black holes, neutron stars or even artificial signals created by intelligent beings (aka aliens).

Professor Avi Loeb at the institute said that an artificial origin of these signals 'is worth contemplating'.

Referencing the latest research, Professor van Leeuwen said: “Fast radio bursts (FRBs) must be powered by uniquely energetic emission mechanisms.

“We discovered five new FRBs, a significant addition to the approximately 100 published [in 2019]."

Despite the five FRBs being discovered in 2019, the information has only been released to the public upon the publication of ‘The Apertif Radio Transient System (ARTS): Design, commissioning, data release, and detection of the first five fast radio bursts’ this week.

While these five have been documented, the researchers have admitted that it is difficult to monitor FRBs because they ‘pierce galaxies at random points in time’.

Professor van Leeuwen’s team now want to understand FRBs in more detail. The astronomers also want learn whether these five truly did come from alien lifeforms.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
UK, Canada, and Australia Officially Recognise Palestine in Historic Shift
New Eye Drops Show Promise in Replacing Reading Glasses for Presbyopia
Dubai Property Boom Shows Strain as Flippers Get Buyer’s Remorse
Top AI Researchers Are Heading Back to China as U.S. Struggles to Keep Pace
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
UAE-US Stargate Project Poised to Make Abu Dhabi a Global AI Powerhouse
Trump and Starmer Clash Over UK Recognition of Palestinian State Amid State Visit
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Kuwait opens bidding for construction of three cities to ease housing crunch.
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Did the Houthis disrupt the internet in the Middle East? Submarine cables cut in the Red Sea
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Cristiano Ronaldo Makes Surprise Stop at New Hong Kong Museum
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
×