World of the Bizarre

'Alien' signal turns out to be microwave oven

By T.K. Randall
April 14, 2015 ·  47 comments

Microwaves appear to be able to emulate signals from space. Image Credit: CC BY-SA 3.0 Apoltix The team at the Parkes Observatory in New South Wales had been investigating unexplained radio signals known as a perytons which bear a close resemblance to the mysterious "fast radio bursts" recently put forward as possible evidence of a type of intelligent extraterrestrial communication.

Far from being a message from aliens however the perytons turned out to have a far more mundane, though amusing, explanation."We have identified strong out-of-band emission at 2.3-2.5 GHz associated with several peryton events," wrote astronomer Emily Petroff in a paper detailing the findings.

"Subsequent tests revealed that a peryton can be generated at 1.4 GHz when a microwave oven door is opened prematurely and the telescope is at an appropriate relative angle."

In other words - the mysterious peryton signals were being produced whenever someone was opening their microwave door before the timer had finished counting down.

Source: CNET.com | Comments (47)

Tags: Parkes Observatory, Extraterrestrial