Curiosity about whether any life exists beyond humanity has long kept scientists watching the waves arriving from space. Now a team of researchers from the Harvard & Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and the University of Oregon has detected radio signals coming from an exoplanet outside our solar system. According to the researchers, the signals were picked up using South Africa's MeerKAT radio telescope array.

The signal is not a message sent by an alien civilization. It was generated by auroras produced through the interaction between the exoplanet's atmosphere and its magnetic field. This is the first time a radio signal from an exoplanet has ever been detected.

Kevin Ortiz, a scientist at the Center for Astrophysics at Harvard University, said the signal originated from Beta Pictoris b, one of three planets orbiting the star Beta Pictoris. The telescope was pointed toward this star system, located roughly 63.4 light-years from Earth. Observations showed the planet producing extremely rapid, repeating, circularly polarized radio bursts. Using a quasar as a reference point, the scientists confirmed the signal came from the planet rather than the star.

According to the researchers, the radio wave was produced through a process called electron cyclotron maser instability. Analyzing the signal also allowed them to measure the planet's powerful magnetic field, believed to be thousands of times stronger than Earth's. The planet's faster rotation is thought to have given rise to these auroras. The giant planet is about 10 times heavier than Jupiter.

This breakthrough significantly expands our understanding of exoplanet magnetic fields and atmospheres. The researchers now plan to study large planets in nearby star systems. It is expected that the greater sensitivity of next-generation radio observatories will help unlock more mysteries of the universe.

Source: Science Alert