aliens - National Geographic Search

Alien hunters detect mysterious radio signal from nearby star-19 december 2020-
NADIA DRAKE
Astronomers searching for signs of life beyond Earth have detected something
strange. A radio signal appears to be coming from the direction of the star closest to
the sun—a small red star approximately 4.2 light-years away called Proxima Centauri.
At least two planets orbit this star, one of which might be temperate and rocky like
Earth.
Breakthrough Listen*, was using Australia’s Parkes Observatory to study Proxima
Centauri when the team detected the signal, which they named BLC-1. The radio
waves were picked up in observations made between April and May 2019.
Though many scientists strongly suspect that the signal is really human, BLC-1 is
the most exciting detection Breakthrough has made so far in its search for
extraterrestrial intelligence.
Scientists have been scanning the skies for radio signals that could be artificial for
60 years—starting with Project Ozma, a search carried out in 1960 by Frank Drake.
Unlike radio waves the cosmos produces naturally, these whispers from
extraterrestrials are expected to look a lot like the transmissions humans use to
communicate. Such signals would cover a very narrow range of radio frequencies.
They would also have a characteristic indicating that the source is moving toward or
away from Earth—a clue that the radio source is coming from a distant cosmic
object, such as a planet orbiting a star.

“Only human technology seems to produce signals like that,” Sheikh says. “Our
WiFi, our cell towers, our GPS, our satellite radio—all of this looks exactly like the
signals that we’re searching for, which makes it very hard to tell if something is from
space or from human-generated technology.”

Over the decades, astronomers have detected numerous candidate signals. Some
turned out to come from previously unknown astronomical sources such as pulsars.

BLC-1 could be beaming from an object that isn’t transmitting as expected: a

satellite that hasn’t been identified yet, a plane traveling overhead, a transmitter on
the ground near the telescope’s line of sight, or perhaps something even more
simple, like defective electronics in a nearby building or a passing car.

Since the detection, the team has again observed Proxima Centauri—and found
nothing. Scientists are working on developing new tests that could pinpoint the
signal’s origin. *Breakthrough Listen is the largest ever scientific research program aimed at finding evidence
of civilizations beyond Earth.

3 Ancient Sites Some People Think Were

Built by Aliens
Planet Earth is home to some spectacular relics from past eras, constructions that
seem to defy the technological capabilities of their time either because they’re too
big, too heavy, or too complex. Some suggest the ancient builders of the Egyptian
pyramids, the Nasca lines, and others weren’t really of this world.

Conclusion:
To be sure, it’s fun to think about whether aliens have visited Earth. But the truth is,
there’s no evidence suggesting that aliens have ever been here. And invoking a
supernatural explanation for some of the most monumental of human achievements
means skipping over the fascinating ways in which prehistoric civilizations managed
to make some of the largest and most enigmatic constructions on Earth.

Sacsayhuamán
Outside the old Inca capital of Cusco, a fortress called Sacsayhuamán rests in the
Peruvian Andes. It is built from enormous stones that have been chiseled and
stacked together like a jigsaw puzzle, and some say that it could be the work of an
ancient civilization that had a little help from aliens.
The 1,000-year-old fortress walls are made of rocks that weigh as much as 360 tons
each, and which were carried more than 20 miles before being lifted and fit into
place with laser-like precision.
How an ancient culture accomplished such a feat of engineering is a fun little
problem to solve; turns out the Inca were very skilled at building houses and
fortified complexes. In fact, this isn’t the only example of complex handiwork:
Similar walls exist throughout the Inca Empire, including one in Cusco where a 12-
angled stone has been carefully wedged into place.

Nasca Lines
On a high and dry plateau some 200 miles southeast of Lima, more than 800 long,
straight white lines are etched into the Peruvian desert. Joining them are 300
geometric shapes and 70 figures of animals, including a spider, monkey, and
hummingbird.

The biggest shapes stretch nearly 1,200 feet across and are best viewed from the air.
Scientists suspect the Nasca drawings are as many as two millennia old, and
because of their age, size, visibility from above, and mysterious nature, the lines are
often thought as one of the best examples of alien handiwork on Earth. Otherwise,
how would an ancient culture have been able to make such huge designs in the
desert without being able to fly? And why?

Egyptian Pyramids
Just outside Cairo, in Giza, the most famous of Egypt’s pyramids rise from the
desert. Built more than 4,500 years ago, the Pyramids at Giza are monumental
tombs where ancient queens and pharaohs were buried.
But how, exactly, did the Egyptians build these things? The Great Pyramid is made
of millions of precisely stones weighing at least two tons each. Even with today’s
construction equipment, building that pyramid would be a great challenge.

So are Egypt’s pyramids artifacts of aliens? Not exactly. It’s true that scientists
aren’t quite sure how the ancient Egyptians built the pyramids—and especially how
they did it so quickly—but there’s ample evidence that these tombs are the work of
thousands of earthly hands.

Possible sign of life on Venus

Something deadly might be floating through the clouds on Venus—a smelly,
flammable gas called phosphine that destroys life-forms reliant on oxygen for
survival. Ironically, though, the scientists that announced sightings of this gas in the
Venusian atmosphere say it could be evidence of life on Venus.

As far as we know, on rocky planets such as Venus and Earth, phosphine can only be
made by life—whether human or microbe. Used as a chemical weapon during World
War I, phosphine is still manufactured as an agricultural fumigant, is used in the
semiconductor industry, and is a nasty byproduct of meth labs. But phosphine is
also made naturally by some species of anaerobic bacteria

Earlier this year, researchers speculated that finding the chemical on other
terrestrial planets could indicate the presence of alien metabolisms, and they
suggested aiming the sharpest telescopes of the future at faraway exoplanets to
investigate their atmospheres for signs of the gas.

Put simply, phosphine shouldn’t be in the Venusian atmosphere. It’s extremely hard
to make, and the chemistry in the clouds should destroy the molecule before it can
accumulate to the observed amounts. But it’s too early to conclude that life is
possible on Venus. Scientists warn that the detection itself needs to be verified, as
the phosphine fingerprint described in the study could be a false signal introduced
by the telescopes or by data processing.

If phosphine really is floating through the Venusian cloud layer, its presence
suggests one of two intriguing possibilities: that alien life-forms are deftly linking
together phosphorus and hydrogen atoms, or that some completely unanticipated
chemistry is making phosphine in the absence of life.

Venus, the second world from the sun, has long been considered Earth’s twin. It’s
about the same size as our home planet, with similar gravity and composition. For
centuries, humans thought its surface might be covered in oceans, abundant
vegetation, and great ecosystems, providing a second oasis for life in the solar
system.
Early science observations of the planet revealed that there are threats that could
kill living things in multiple ways. Its surface can reach 900 degrees Fahrenheit.
Also, there is a high amount of pressure, more than 90 times what’s felt on Earth’s
surface. Plus, the planet’s atmosphere is primarily suffocating carbon dioxide
populated by sulfuric acid clouds.

Even so, scientists have considered the possibility that life might exist in the
Venusian cloud layer for nearly 60 years, where conditions are a bit friendlier.While
the surface conditions of Venus make the hypothesis of life there unlikely, the
clouds of Venus are a different story altogether.Despite the acid, the clouds carry the
basic ingredients for life as we know it: sunlight, water, and organic molecules. And
near the middle of the cloud layer, temperatures and pressures are rather Earthlike.