WHEN astronomy is faced with the unexplained, ET is sometimes invoked until we know better. There were the “canals” of Mars in 1877. And the idea of “little green men” was raised when Jocelyn Bell Burnell detected the regular “beep-beep-beep” of pulsar stars 50 years ago. Soon after, the discovery of the vast explosions of gamma ray bursts led to speculation of intergalactic war.
Last year the media was abuzz with talk of Tabby’s star, a pretty unremarkable F-type star in the constellation of Cygnus in our galaxy. NASA’s Kepler satellite found its light varied in a complex and unexpected way. Natural explanations were proposed, including a lumpy disc of orbiting material, the chaotic break-up of a planet, or clouds of comets. But the media latched on to one idea in particular, that the dimming could be due to “alien megastructures”.
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So it was not a huge surprise when the headline “Harvard Scientists Theorize That Fast Radio Bursts Come From Alien Space Travel” appeared last week.
First seen in 2007, these intense and mysterious flashes of radio waves come from the depths of space and last milliseconds. Their brevity means they must originate in cosmically tiny regions, some 100 kilometres across. Astronomers have suggested natural events that could fit the bill, such as neutron stars and black holes colliding or potent flares from extraordinary stars.
But the Harvard idea proposes that we might be catching a glimpse of beams produced by advanced civilisations to propel spaceships with immense light sails between the stars.
The focus on alien explanations is understandable: the public gets excited, newspapers are sold and links clicked. Scientists often feed the fire with press releases and more speculation. But many roll their eyes. It is important to understand that the odds that aliens are the solution to the unexplained is vanishingly small, especially when more “mundane” astrophysics, such as colliding black holes or the smashing of planets, is much more likely.
Frustratingly, when the solution has been found, a lot of the media has moved on. And while talk of aliens is thrilling, it can be a distraction. There are researchers who worry that the thought of funding alien speculation might be seen as a waste of taxpayer funds in a world that is facing many pressing problems, while others feel that fascinating scientific results get lost in the clamour.
This is not to say that we scientists shouldn’t consider the possibility of alien activity – we should be open to radical ideas. But science’s role is to rule out the boring and often tedious before we seriously embrace the extraordinary. That’s one message that should be beamed far and wide.
This article appeared in print under the headline “Space oddities”
