Posted on 06/21/2025 7:58:21 AM PDT by BenLurkin
The brief but intense signal, detected by radio telescopes in Western Australia, lasted only a fraction of a second yet became the brightest object in the sky, momentarily outshining entire galaxies and stars.
The source of this unexpected burst was Relay 2, a communications satellite launched by NASA in 1964.
After both of its transmitters failed in 1967, the satellite had been silent and declared defunct until now.
Experts believe the signal wasn't deliberately transmitted by the satellite, but was triggered by an external event.
One possibility is an electrostatic discharge: a sudden release of electrical energy, similar to a spark, caused by the satellite building up charge as it orbits through Earth's magnetic field.
Another theory is that a micrometeoroid, a tiny piece of rock traveling at high speed, struck Relay 2, causing a burst of heat and charged particles that emitted the brief but intense signal.
The burst briefly emitted about 400 watts of power, similar to a small microwave oven. The fact that this signal remained that powerful after traveling from space to Earth makes it especially rare.
...
The burst was detected by the Australian Square Kilometer Array Pathfinder (ASKAP), a network of 36 radio telescopes.
Researchers quickly traced the source to Relay 2, which happened to be passing overhead at that exact moment.
Despite lasting only nanoseconds, the radio burst was extraordinarily strong. Scientists estimated its strength at more than three million janskys, a unit used to measure radio wave intensity.
...
The shape of the signal was clean and well-defined, allowing scientists to analyze it in detail.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
mark
“They chose the comms frequency to not be absorbed in the ionosphere, so, whoever wrote the quoted sentence above has no idea what they’re talking about.”
Yep, I agree. Right now the past couple years the new challenge has not been loss, it has been indirect 4G and 5G noise affecting those frequencies so newer receivers have filters.
Beat me to it... Of course it’s Aliens... It always is.
Aliens. That’s all I’m saying.
Never fails...
Or someone sending us a message, and it isn’t aliens.
“Or someone sending us a message, and it isn’t aliens.”
Yeah, I was thinking about that possibility too. China or Russia shooting across our Bow. Or even a test of our own capabilities. We would test on a dead subject for sure, not one live and being used.
-PJ
“Yeah, like the Navy hauling out an old ship to be used for target practice.”
Exactly...
I did it with my mind.
Just sayin’.
I want to be paid off or will do it again with SKYLAB!
Probably just somebody checking to see if NASA wanted to extend the warranty before DOGE stopped paying the phone bill.
The most recent significant solar flare to impact radio communications over the Pacific Ocean was an X1.9-class flare that erupted from sunspot region 4114 on June 19, 2025. This powerful flare triggered shortwave radio blackouts across the Pacific, including areas like Hawaii.
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Got a charge before it burned out?.
Relay 2 was heard from on June 9, 1967.
There sure was a lot going on that week:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six-Day_War
Ka-zammmm!
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