Researchers working in Breakthrough Listen Project (BL), founded by Stephen Hawking and Russian billionaire, Yuri Miller recently picked up 15 new fast radio bursts (FRBs) from across the universe which lasted just milliseconds.
This detection has led to a speculation sparking a debate over the existence of extraterrestrial technology in the spiral galaxy.
Scientists have formerly observed 24 similar signals and the latest signals were received from an unidentified source, known as "FRB 121102", which was initially discovered in a dwarf galaxy around three billion light years away from Earth in 2012.
It was previously assumed that the frequencies were a result of a supernova until they were inexplicably repeated in 2015 and 2016. However, even after studying the signals it was not clear if they came from black holes or from some alien space centre.
"Whether or not fast radio bursts turn out to be signatures of extraterrestrial technology, Breakthrough Listen is helping to push the frontiers of a new and rapidly growing area of our understanding of the universe around us.", explains Andrew Siemion, director of the Berkeley SETI Research Center and of the Breakthrough Listen to "The Guardian".
However, some experts debunked this hypothesis.
National Geographic writer Nadia Drake also reacted on Twitter and said, "Invoking aliens as a potential solution to an ongoing mystery is lazy."
"Things can go bump (or burst!) in the cosmos and be compelling/fascinating/intriguing without being ALIENS!" ,Drake further added.
The frequency and the bandwidth have been observed to be the highest and the widest bursts from FRB 121102, according to the study by researchers working at Breakthrough Listen.
"One day, we might receive a signal from a planet like this, but we should be wary of answering back", stated Stephen Hawking, once in a documentary; entitled 'Stephen Hawking's Favorite Places'
He also further added that alien life could be "rapacious marauders roaming the cosmos in search of resources to plunder, and planets to conquer and colonise".
Now that is the last thing we humans would want!
