Astronomers have been left baffled after receiving a new series of mysterious signals, known as Fast Radio Bursts, prompting speculation on whether they could be messages from aliens, UK MailOnline reported.
FRB's are radio emissions that appear temporarily and randomly, making them not only hard to find, but also hard to study.
Since the cause of such a short and sharp burst is not known, speculation has revolved around anything from stars colliding to artificially created messages.
Back in 2007, the first FRB was "heard" by radio telescopes. However, the signal was so temporary and random that it took years for astronomers to even agree it wasn't a glitch in one of the telescope's instruments.
According to UK MailOnline, the signal, which lasted just five milliseconds, was named the Lorimer burst after its discoverer, Duncan Lorimer.
"A recent discovery, in April of this year, of an FRB using the giant radio dish in Puerto Rico confirmed to astronomers that these signals are indeed real - but they're no closer to finding out an answer as to what they are," UK MailOnline reported.
"Theories so far include flaring stars, white dwarfs merging, neutron stars colliding and - most intriguingly - alien signals."
Since the radio emission was clearly dispersed, it was predicted that the signals must have come from possibly billions of light-years away.
But early estimates said there should be 10,000 of these events a day - so the fact that another wasn't discovered until 2012 was troubling.
"This extraordinary finding either indicates an as yet unknown or unusual astronomical phenomenon, or it could indicate that this is a vast alien communication network, and the universe is teeming with intelligent life forms," said Nigel Watson, author of the UFO Investigations Manual.
"Every unusual signal from outer space encourages us to wonder if it is from an alien civilization. Since this signal seems so elusive and hard to interpret then this should be a candidate for further analysis."
"It would be fantastic if this was an alien signal as the knowledge that we are not alone in this vast universe would have a dramatic impact on our perception of our place in the scheme of things."
The FRB's, however, remain a mystery for now.
