Scientists have detected bird songs from deep space. Discover how to capture this signal on your own in our video!

If you turn on a radio receiver before a thunderstorm (don’t do this), you will hear crackling sounds. Those unpleasant clicks are just the tip of the iceberg. At lower frequencies (household receivers won't let you access those), your ears will be opened to howls, whistles, and even something resembling the singing of a heavenly choir and the chirping of birds. The last two signals are informally referred to as "choir" and "chirping." It turns out that they are not related to thunderstorms at all and originate from deep space. This is reported by Nature magazine.

TESLA: I HEARD MARTIANS!

Pioneers of radio in the late 19th century traveled on very long waves. Simple equipment allowed only those to be studied. Thus, long waves were used by one of the founders of radio, Marconi. The "Titanic" also sent distress signals using the same waves in 1912.

And it soon became clear: in this frequency range, there was already someone else besides us. The famous Nikola Tesla believed it to be Martians. Mars was in vogue at that time. Astronomers had just discovered "canals," strange straight formations on the planet, and were almost certain they were artificial. Why wouldn’t Martians signal in our direction?

Tesla understood well that the noise in the ether was mainly caused by lightning. He learned to hear very distant thunderstorms, thousands of kilometers away. It's astonishing, considering that his receiver, by our standards, was not actually a receiver. A wheel spun, making and breaking contact many times per second, thus creating sound.

However, there was something else that Tesla reported to journalists. Something resembling Morse code. The Morse code was actively used for telegraph communication, but it was rare in the ether.

THE BLAME LIES WITH LIGHTNING

Although it is still not definitively known what exactly Tesla heard, many believe that the great inventor captured the signals we now call "chirping" and "choral singing."

Those who hear them for the first time are filled with reverent awe. Sometimes it creates a complete illusion that real birds and living people are singing. But in an instant, the illusion shatters. You realize that these sounds were produced by nature.

But what kind of nature?

By the early 20th century, with the discovery of the ionosphere, a natural "mirror" for radio waves hanging at heights of tens of kilometers, a simple and clear explanation emerged. Lightning continuously flashes on Earth. Several hundred lightning strikes occur every second.

Each lightning bolt emits a radio wave. The longest waves freely and repeatedly circle the Earth. As the signals travel, they change. They interact with one another, weakening in some aspects and even strengthening in others. This is the origin of the strange sounds. We hear a distorted sum of all the lightning in the world.

Capturing such sounds even at home (especially if you live in a rural area) is not difficult (see also). Scientists constantly monitor this part of the ether, hoping to learn more about solar activity and earthquakes (it is believed that they somehow enhance the "chirping"). The military also communicates with submarines on these same waves (this type of radio can penetrate water freely).

Scientists heard birds singing from deep space

Photo: Shutterstock.

ALMOST NEAR THE MOON

Who would have thought that this long-known phenomenon has a cosmic rather than an earthly origin?

The discovery was made by an international group of astronomers, primarily Chinese.

It was previously believed that "choral singing" and "bird chirping" occurred at an altitude of 50,000 kilometers. The lines of Earth's magnetic field are extremely elongated. Solar and interplanetary plasma captured by Earth moves along these lines, like a trolleybus on wires. At such vast distances, the Earth's magnetic field resembles that of a refrigerator magnet. It is very simple – because the small details are smoothed out. Just the South Pole, the North Pole, and that's it.

It was thought that this simplicity was crucial for the "production" of the mysteriously sounding radio signals. The idea was that the plasma, which we have already discussed, goes out of equilibrium, causing fluctuations that emit radio waves in the magnetic field.

However, the Chinese managed to capture the "choir" and "birds" from a completely different location, at an altitude of 165,000 kilometers. That’s already a third of the distance to the Moon. Let’s recall that Chinese researchers established a receiver for such waves on the far side of the Moon a few years ago. It is likely that the data was obtained with its help, although little was known about its operation. In the article itself, the authors consistently refer to data from a NASA satellite.

HOW DO ALIENS COMMUNICATE?

One might wonder, what difference does it make, 50,000 kilometers or 150,000 kilometers? A colossal one. The fact is that at such heights, the Earth's magnetic field again stops resembling the "refrigerator magnet" field. It becomes more complex and tangled due to external influences. This means that the previous model is no longer applicable.

"The generation of such waves is not determined solely by the local environment, and they can develop at any point in space," the article states.

Since space is not empty, filled with plasma, it appears to serve as a medium through which a kind of sound – shock waves – moves freely. In certain points, such as near Earth (but not necessarily), conditions are created for resonance. And the energy is released. This means that there exists another communication channel throughout the Universe, almost acoustic in nature.

What if hypothetical extraterrestrial civilizations communicate using "plasma sounds"? Such "sounds" face virtually no obstacles and do not decay. This means that Tesla may have indeed captured something not entirely natural. The signals may not be from Mars... so where are they from?

By the way, "chirping" and "choral singing" are also present near Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. The magnetic fields of these planets also "discharge" the energy of plasma fluctuations, converting it into radio waves. This was discovered relatively recently with the launch of spacecraft to these celestial bodies.

BY THE WAY

How to Hear Such Sounds Yourself

If "chirping" and "choirs" may relate to aliens, why not listen for yourself? Moreover, all you need is a laptop and a long cable, that’s it. The cable (in my first experiments, I used an extension cord) connects to the microphone input of the laptop. Any sound visualization software can be installed on the computer – for example, Spectrum Lab (but there are plenty of simpler ones). Spectrum Lab is convenient because it already has the necessary plugins built in that filter out the extraneous (look for the Natural Radio tab). You need to tune into the range of 2-5 kilohertz (the plugins will take care of that). In the city, this endeavor is likely doomed: phone chargers and power supplies will completely drown out the signal. However, in the countryside or at a summer house, you will hear it immediately. It’s especially clear at sunset. Good luck!