--- title: "SETI Institute Admits That Proxima Centauri Signal Is Very Strange" description: "Over the weekend, astronomers made a tantalizing discovery: a mysterious radio beam emanated from the vicinity of Proxima Centauri, the Sun’s closest star neighbor. The discovery, made by Breakthrough Listen, a project dedicated to hunt for signals from extraterrestrial life affiliated with the late physicist Stephen Hawking, made big waves, leading to widespread speculations that […]" date: "2020-12-22" modified: "2020-12-22" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/seti-institute-mysterious-signal-proxima-centauri" categories: - "Science & Energy" tags: - "aliens" - "proxima centauri" - "SETI" - "seti institute" --- # SETI Institute Admits That Proxima Centauri Signal Is Very Strange ![The SETI Institute has finally chimed in on the mysterious discovery of a signal emanating from the Sun's closest star neighbor Proxima Centauri.]() *\Image: ESO\* Over the weekend, astronomers [made a tantalizing discovery](): a mysterious radio beam that emanated from the vicinity of Proxima Centauri, the Sun's closest stellar neighbor, as first [reported by *The Guardian*](). The discovery, made by Breakthrough Listen, a project dedicated to hunt for signals from extraterrestrial life affiliated with the late physicist Stephen Hawking, led to widespread speculation that an alien race may have reached out to us. A 982 megahertz signal dubbed BLC1 (Breakthrough Listen 1) came from the star, as spotted by the Parkes telescope in Australia in April and May 2019. Most tantalizingly, the relatively nearby star system contains a planet dubbed Proxima b, which is about 20 percent larger than Earth and located in the system's habitable zone, the area where it's theoretically possible for life to sustain itself. The news also met with a healthy dose of skepticism. In [a statement]() released today, the SETI Institute commented on the controversial report. The main takeaway: Breakthrough Listen's discovery is a candidate, not a confirmed signal. "Because of its profile, it’s very unlikely that the signal was produced by a natural but unknown cosmic source, but who knows… Nature often surprises us," reads the statement, penned by SETI Institute senior planetary astronomer Franck Marchis. So you're saying there's a chance? Not exactly. "One simple explanation is that Parkes picked up a signal that originated on Earth," Marchis writes. "We use radio to communicate, and this could be terrestrial interference. And that’s probably the most likely explanation." And then there's the simple fact that Proxima Centauri's exoplanet Proxima b has yet to be confirmed, let alone imaged directly. "We know of its existence only through the motion on its star, so all we have is an estimate of its mass and its orbit, nothing else," the statement reads. "The idea of a technologically advanced civilization living around our nearest stellar neighbor is quite extraordinary," Marchis admitted. "But currently, we’re left with more questions than answers: Why was the signal detected only once over 30 hours in April and May?" We also don't know why observers didn't immediately alert the scientific community. The planetary astronomer also argues that it would be "highly improbable" that two civilizations would end up "using the same technology at the same time." "It’s probably not alien and we will confirm this soon," Marchis concludes. "Of course, as a SETI Institute scientist, nothing would please me more than to be proven wrong." **READ MORE:** [Did Proxima Centauri Just Call to Say Hello? Not Really!]() \[SETI Institute\] **More on the signal:** *[A Very Strange Radio Signal Is Coming From the Closest Star]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()