Van Harden asked me Wednesday what it is like to share an office with fellow talk show host Simon Conway. I shared that one of the many things that Simon and I like to discuss is stories of aliens and the potential extinction of the human race (they MAY be connected). THIS story is the type we love.
Astronomers in Canada say they have picked up repeating radio waves from deep space.
A study in the journal Nature says the mysterious waves were discovered over the summer on a radio telescope in British Columbia. The waves are called fast radio bursts, and this is only the second time in history that they've been discovered in deep space.
Most scientists believe the repeating radio bursts are generated by powerful astrophysical phenomena such as black holes or neutron stars, though some experts have suggested they could be evidence of advanced alien life. Fast radio bursts were first discovered in 2015 by a radio telescope in Puerto Rico.
This prompts a serious discussion: SHOULD we be constantly sending out our own sound waves - or even deep space vehicles - to let aliens know we are here? How do we know they are friendly? I'm worried that Simon and I one day will be battling aliens with our laser guns and thinking, "we warned 'em!"