Astrophysicist Avi Loeb: Anyone can capture signals from aliens using their smartphone.

Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb is known for his provocative statements aimed at engaging his audience. Recently, he has made a bold claim: the esteemed professor suggests that we have been receiving signals from extraterrestrials for a long time, but we mistakenly interpret them as natural occurrences. For those who haven't heard, grab your smartphone and start listening. Aliens are inflating the solar sails of their ships right under our noses, while we stubbornly attribute strange sounds to pulsars and neutron stars. Should we believe it? Let’s investigate.

MYSTERIOUS FAST RADIO BURSTS

Often there is no phenomenon, yet a catchy term exists (like the Big Bang – just kidding). But sometimes it's the opposite. A phenomenon is evident, but a striking name is nowhere to be found. This is why the public shows little interest.

“Fast radio bursts” – let's agree, that sounds rather dull. And it seems you can't argue with that. These signals are detected via radio. They are incredibly brief, lasting less than a second. They are indeed bursts, impulses. In a fraction of a second, unknown forces emit as much energy as our Sun produces over centuries.

The most astonishing part: occasionally, bursts come multiple times from the same location. One might wonder, how can such energy accumulate? It would take centuries. Yet, it only takes months and years. And then – poof. How shall we name such a phenomenon? Correct, “repeating fast radio bursts.” Which sounds even more contrived.

Harvard astronomer Avi Loeb is certainly not one to be deterred by a mundane term. In fact, as early as 2017, he discovered that some signals are indeed repetitive.

Perhaps it would be easier for him to explain where all this Morse code is coming from?

Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb enjoys engaging his audience. Photo: harvard.edu

SEARCHING FOR STARS, BUT NOT THOSE

Avi Loeb states that many explanations are proposed, but all have flaws.

For instance, the first of the detected repeating signals originates from an old, large, and calm galaxy. This significantly narrows down the possibilities. Clearly, the source is not the core of this galaxy (as we can observe through telescopes, it is quite distant), and it is unlikely to be young stars since the star formation process there has essentially ended.

So, what remains? If young stars are ruled out, then it must be older ones. Middle-aged stars are stable and don’t “flicker” – just look at the Sun.

Perhaps matter occasionally falls onto a white dwarf (a deceased star with high gravity)? Possibly. In that case, the material would “burn” and “glow,” including in the radio range. Or could it be a magnetar, which is a neutron star (also a star at its final life stage) with an incredibly strong magnetic field? And something could be falling onto it as well? Absolutely, it could.

There is a stereotype in this field. When astronomers encounter something puzzling in space, they envision an exotic object (like a neutron star) onto which something is falling.

And each time, such explanations have downsides. That’s why, several years ago and now again, Avi Loeb urges: stop looking for natural explanations. It’s THEM. You wanted them – rejoice, you’ve found them.

IN THE SPIRIT OF TSIOLKOVSKY

Avi Loeb is one who believes in Konstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovsky. Tsiolkovsky was a contemporary of Professor Petr Lebedev from Moscow State University. In 1900, Lebedev demonstrated through a delicate experiment that light exerts pressure on matter. Hence, Tsiolkovsky reasoned, if a sail could be constructed in space… light would blow into it…

In 1900, Russian experimental physicist Petr Lebedev demonstrated that light exerts pressure on matter through a delicate experiment.

Photo: ru.wikipedia.org.

Indeed. Both we and others have launched such sails, and even one such sail is currently floating in space. It catches the wind and inflates! The sails of Earthlings are still tiny and pathetic, using natural sunlight, yet it works.

Avi Loeb states: advanced civilizations have devised a powerful energy source to inflate such sails. He calculated that the process of inflation would appear as a fast radio burst from an external perspective.

ILAN MUSK’S DREAM

Diving into the calculations, it truly is astonishing. The size of the emitter is roughly that of Earth. It’s hard for us to even imagine such a scale of technology. The optimal energy frequency needed to keep the sail in shape and propel the ship forward is precisely the same as that of the fast bursts.

“They have already fulfilled Ilan Musk's dream and are constantly traveling between their 'own' Earth and 'their' Mars,” Avi Loeb emotionally writes.

But these are one group, while others (since there are many bursts) have established trade on an interstellar scale. And a third group – operates on intergalactic scales, moving nearly at the speed of light. The flashes from such ships should be rare yet precise and powerful – and indeed, this is the very pattern we observe.

SMARTPHONES AT THE READY

Thus, in Avi Loeb's mind, the entire Universe is trading and traveling, while we are not yet involved, and we need to connect somehow.

The problem is that despite being an astronomer and professor, not many people believe Loeb. Serious telescopes are needed to test his hypotheses. But who will allocate him observation time?

There is a solution! The most powerful impulses from stellar sails should fall within the range used by terrestrial mobile communications. And the signal strength is sufficient to be captured by a regular smartphone.

People need an application that constantly records strange crackles and transmits everything to a central hub. They will sort out whether it’s local interference or if all Earthlings noticed it simultaneously. Additionally, they can pinpoint the source.

I read about the application from Loeb a couple of years ago, and although it could be quite simple, no one has developed it (including the astronomer himself). Yet, the idea is sound.

But… would you place your smartphone at the service of science? Knowing it constantly transmits something somewhere? A good question. But – solar sails, romance… Perhaps we should take the risk?