MYSTERIOUS flashing lights visible among the stars may be signs of alien activity, scientists claim.
Around 100 of the blinking red glow have been spotted by astronomers over the past 70 years and scientists still have no explanation for them.
In a new scientific paper, experts claim these lights could be evidence of an undiscovered space event … or ET.
There’s a chance they’re signs of alien structures or “interstellar communication lasers”, researchers wrote in the Astronomical Journal.
However, this is an outside bet, and the most likely source is “natural, if somewhat extreme astrophysical sources.”
The team based in Sweden examined publicly accessible images, such as old military records, dating back to the 1950s.
They compared these historical observations to modern sky surveys to find signs of blinking lights, such as stars that have disappeared from the Milky Way.
“Finding an actually vanishing star – or a star that appears out of nowhere! – would be a precious discovery,” said project leader Beatriz Villarroel, of Stockholm University.
“It certainly would include new astrophysics beyond the one we know of today.”
Stars typically die in one of two ways: Either slowly transitioning into white dwarfs or rapidly exploding as supernovae.
In total, 100 objects were found that fit neither of these categories. Instead, they disappeared from the night sky and appeared again later.
Researchers said they had no direct evidence the lights were caused by aliens.
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However, they’re almost out of ideas and warned an extraterrestrial origin could not be ruled out.
The only natural explanation for the lights would be a “failed supernova”.
This is a theoretical prediction foe what happens when a very massive star collapses into a black hole.
It’s thought such events don’t give off an explosion, though they’re extremely rare.
Whatever scientists find, the discovery of the source would likely change the face of astrophysics forever.
“The implications of finding such objects extend from traditional astrophysics fields to the more exotic searches for evidence of technologically advanced civilisations,” experts wrote.
In other news, trillions of tiny alien probes may be flying in space but are too small for Nasa to spot, according to one recent paper.
A former Nasa scientist claimed in October that the space agency found alien life on Mars in the 1970s.
And here’s why some people still think the Moon landings were faked 50 years later – and the man who started the hoax theory.
Do you think aliens exist? Let us know in the comments!
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