Earlier this week, the web was aflutter with news that radio astronomers in Russia had picked up 'suprisingly strong' radio signals coming from a star cluster about 94 light years away.

The signals were coming from the Hercules constellation, and based on the power of the signals and their frequency, the buzz was that this be a message from really, really advanced aliens. Excited stargazers began throwing around phrases like "this could be a type II civilization" and other such SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) arcana.

For clarity's sake, civilizations can be classified by something called the Kardashev scale. It was created by an astronomer named -- you guessed it -- Kardashev, as a way to gauge the technological advancement of any civilization.Humans are almost a type I civilization. That means we can store and use energy from our sun, but still use fossil fuels. We'll be classified as a fully type I when we go completely to renewable power.

A type II civilization is one that can fully harness all the energy of their sun. That's way beyond us, and since we've never found anyone else out in space, the Kardashev scale isn't much more than a fun thought exercise. But it's important in times like these, because the strength of this mystery signal suggested an energy output on a stellar scale, far beyond us oil burners here on earth. That's really cool, and a bit scary. 

READ FULL STORY: http://www.voanews.com/a/debunking-that-radio-signal/3491360.html

 

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