Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2019/01/09/mysterious-repeating-signal-fr.html
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Sometimes I hate that I understand relativistic travel, because then I could believe in aliens visiting us. As it stands, see you in a few billion years. If at all of course.
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Was it Jodie Foster’s telescope?
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Maybe the message was “heads up, we’ll be there in 1.5000000001 billion years.”
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New Star, Who Dis?
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Mysterious repeating signal from distant galaxy decoded: “Honey, will you pick up the kids?”
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These are widely believed to be the result of magnetars (which, frankly, are far more interesting than aliens).
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Now that’s powerful!
Or so I assume.
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I am a card carrying nerd and just love stuff like this. At this point in time, I love it even more because it draws my thoughts way beyond the current shit show on this tiny, insignificant speck of dust in an out of the way galaxy, which is “mostly harmless.” Emphasis on the “mostly” right now!
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At 1000km distance, the magnetic field is so strong it turns atoms into cylinders effectively erradicating what most people consider to be mater.
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Some sort of viral advertising?
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That seems pretty strong. Those with pacemakers need not apply.
At that distance from a neutron star you’ll be ripped in half by the tidal forces, nevermind the magnetic field 
The reason that aliens are discounted is that the signal strength is on the order of an exploding star, which is a bit difficult for us to imagine aliens producing. But we may have limited imaginations.
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We’ll have to agree to disagree here.
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I was thinking something along these lines as well. Just because it’s a “signal” it does not mean what a layman thinks it means, repeating signals tend to be related to pulsars, white dwarfs, super novas, etc.
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Some sort of viral advertising?
That prediction of first contact is both terrifying and might be the most likely scenario.
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Have to disagree. The most terrifying would be “HIDE you fools!!!” followed by silence.
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Scientists are going to be really annoyed when the fast radio bursts from this distant galaxy abruptly just stop – since the fast radio bursts are behind a paywall and their monthly allotment has been expended. (However, the upside is this is evidence of intelligent life and late-stage capitalism.)
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Planetary annihilation is momentary. Unsolicited advertising is forever.
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