Scientists at an Australian observatory have been studying a radio signal that appears to originate in Proxima Centauri, the star closest to the sun, to see if it may be a sign of intelligent life.

By Dennis Overbye Nobody believes it was ET phoning, but radio astronomers ... that apparently came from the direction of the star Proxima Centauri. “It’s some sort of technological signal.

An Australian radio telescope picked up unusual signals back in 2019 and thinks they originated from Proxima Centauri, a scant 4.3 light years from our blue marble. Researchers caution that it ...

Credit: NRAO/AUI/NSF More information: Meredith A. MacGregor et al. Detection of a Millimeter Flare from Proxima Centauri, The Astrophysical Journal (2018). DOI: 10.3847/2041-8213/aaad6b ...

The star, which is about 4.2 light years away, was found to be just one-seventh the diameter of our Sun (D Ségransan et al. 2002 Astronomy and Astrophysics to appear) Proxima Centauri is a very ...

More information: Kiana Burton et al, The Proxima Centauri Campaign—First Constraints on Millimeter Flare Rates from ALMA, The Astrophysical Journal (2025). DOI: 10.3847/1538-4357/ada5f2 ...

J. Wargelin et al. Optical, UV, and X-Ray Evidence for a 7-Year Stellar Cycle in Proxima Centauri, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society (2016). DOI: 10.1093/mnras/stw2570 ...

If you buy through a BGR link, we may earn an affiliate commission, helping support our expert product labs. The nearby star Proxima Centauri has long been considered a potential place to search ...

The fun starts at 8 PM ET/5 PM PT. Proxima Centauri is a small red dwarf star located just 4.25 light years away, slightly closer to Earth than the famous binary pair of Alpha Centauri A and B.

The project has now stumbled on its most intriguing pay dirt yet. Proxima Centauri is an inviting prospect for “out yonder.” It is the closest known star to the sun, only 4.24 light-years from ...