11 comments

  • dekhn 1 hour ago
    I don't think the title is really accurate- it doesn't emit radio signals every 8 minutes, it emits constantly, but emits along an axis that periodically aligns with our viewing cone.
  • Kuyawa 19 minutes ago
    Why would you send signals at a fixed interval? That would instantly label you as a natural phenomena instead of organic intent

    Make it random, at least receivers would have a harder time identifying intentions

  • rq1 42 minutes ago
    “long-period transients“

    What wait, 8mn is a long period?

    I checked the fastest pulsar observed rotates and “emits” at 716Hz! :shock:

    That’s ~70.000km/s on the equator given its ~30km diameter :shock: :shock:

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PSR_J1748%E2%88%922446ad

    • hgoel 23 minutes ago
      It really is difficult to truly understand the absurd energies involved in these things.
      • alterom 21 minutes ago
        Twinkle twinkle little star 0_0
  • teeray 8 minutes ago
    A light shining in the dark forest...
  • cartan 1 hour ago
    Nuke them before it's too late!
  • throwaway81523 1 hour ago
    Pulsars are usually faster than that I guess.
  • martijnvds 2 hours ago
    The signal? "Replace smoke alarm battery"
    • bombcar 2 hours ago
      Then it would be periodic but so long between signals that it would be nearly impossible to determine where it was coming from.
      • gibolt 1 hour ago
        Maybe it is a musical instrument smoke alarm
      • hilariously 1 hour ago
        What's that beep? Eh, we'll figure it in the next galactic epoch, go back to bed.
  • ocastx 1 hour ago
    We are on our way, Carol!
  • vegnus 2 hours ago
    Radio... Live transmission?
    • AstroNutt 1 hour ago
      I got it! :) There is no Joy in this HN Division.
    • ceejayoz 2 hours ago
      • rtkwe 1 hour ago
        Yes but repeated evenly spaced pulses are special and limited to a special subset of stars caller pulsars. The sun is mostly wideband radio noise where the article is talking about distinct regular pulses which are rarer.

        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulsar

      • vegnus 2 hours ago
        Sorry I was making a dumb joke about a song
        • ceejayoz 40 minutes ago
          Ah, sorry. I can't hear song lyrics, so those tend to be lost on me!
      • y-curious 2 hours ago
        You responded to a “joke” but hey this is cool new info for me
        • ErroneousBosh 1 hour ago
          If you have satellite TV you already have a solar radiotelescope.

          Measure the voltage on the AGC line in the tuner and you'll see a peak as the sun passes the azimuth of the dish. That's it picking up 10GHz solar radiation, and turning its gain down to compensate for the background noise.

  • metalman 1 hour ago
    I didn't know that there was a whole slew of these red and white dwarfs orbiting other stars, which I think must make it extra unlikely for there to be habitable planets in the same system, the process of one star capturing another is going to realy wreck havock with any original planets, and any surviving lifeform to get past the am radio phase of technological development

    thats! GPM J071507−114153, "the pulse on your dial" brought to by astrophyisal phenominon, every 8 min, for eterinty

  • xqcgrek2 2 hours ago