For the first time in history: A radio broadcast from an alien planet has been received

Researchers from Harvard and the University of Oregon have, for the first time, directly received a radio signal from a planet outside the solar system. The signal was captured by the MeerKAT telescope in South Africa and originates from the planet Beta Pictoris b, a gas giant 63 light-years away. The broadcast is an auroral phenomenon, not aliens. The measurement revealed a magnetic field thousands of times stronger than Earth's.

In a scientific breakthrough, researchers from the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and the University of Oregon have reported the first-ever direct reception of a radio signal from a planet outside the solar system. The signal was captured using the advanced MeerKAT radio telescope array in South Africa. It originates from the planet Beta Pictoris b, a gas giant about 63 light-years from Earth, ten times more massive than Jupiter. The researchers clarify that this is not aliens, but an auroral phenomenon – the release of energy from charged particles hitting the planet's magnetic field and atmosphere, creating periodic radio waves. This achievement allowed, for the first time, a direct measurement of the magnetic field of such a distant planet, which was found to be thousands of times stronger than Earth's. The strength is partly due to the planet's high rotation speed – a day lasting only 8-9 hours. The researchers have identified seven additional giant planets in nearby systems and estimate that the next generation of radio telescopes will allow us to listen to the magnetospheres of other distant worlds.