The information about this finding is very preliminary, and it’s possible that this is a bizarre problem with the Arecibo radio telescope (all three readings were taken from Arecibo), but it is fascinating. It will be interesting to see what we find (if anything) when we start pointing other radio telescopes at these coordinates.If confirmed by other telescopes and not determined to be a yet-unknown astronomical phenomenon, this could possibly be the first evidence of the existence of extra-terrestrial life—especially considering that the frequency of the signal, about 1420 megahertz, is one of the frequencies at which hydrogen “readily absorbs and emits energy.”
Because hydrogen is the most common element in the universe, some scientists believe that ~1420mhz would be one of the frequencies at which aliens might try to advertise their presence.
In February 2003, astronomers involved in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) pointed the massive radio telescope in Arecibo, Puerto Rico, at around 200 sections of the sky. The same telescope had previously detected unexplained radio signals at least twice from each of these regions, and the astronomers were trying to reconfirm the findings. The team has now finished analysing the data, and all the signals seem to have disappeared. Except one, which has got stronger. . . . read the full article (New Scientist).