Head to https://squarespace.com/drbecky to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain using code DRBECKY – AD | It is time to take out the trash. Because this month saw yet another bullshit claim that an announcement of the discovery of intelligent alien life was imminent. And I got mad. Maybe it’s just because this is the tip of the iceberg of so many fake discovery claims that circle the internet, especially when it comes to JWST, which are just all absolute trash. And this week I have reached my limit and I’m going to take it all out on BLC1 – breakthrough listen candidate 1 – a radio signal detected back in 2020 which was already shown to be radio interference back in 2021, but that this month a documentary film maker claimed to have spoken to the folks at the Breakthrough Listen project who are hunting for signs of intelligent alien life in radio data, and claims that an announcement from Breakthrough and the University of Oxford about BLC1 are imminent. I’m a researcher at Oxford, and I can tell you now we all laughed. So in this video, we’re going to dive into everything we know about BLC1 to put these rumours to rest completely. First starting with:
1) BLC1’s detection back in 2020 and why it was initially thought to be a promising “technosignature” of intelligent alien life, 2) how BLC1 was ruled out as a real “technosignature”, and 3) how no recurring signal has been detected since.
Smith et al. (2021; BLC1 discovery) – https://arxiv.org/pdf/2111.08007
Sheikh et al. (2021; BLC1 is RFI) – https://arxiv.org/pdf/2111.06350
Sheikh et al. (2021; no repeat observations of BLC1) – https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/2515-5172/ac33b2
Choza et al. (2023; extra-galactic technosignature search) – https://arxiv.org/pdf/2312.03943
00:00 – Introduction
02:20 – Squarespace AD
03:42 – BLC1’s detection in 2020 and why it was thought to be a candidate “technosignature”
09:07 – How BLC1 was ruled out as technosignature and was just radio interference
10:58 – BLC1 has never been detected again
11:44 – Bloopers
Video filmed on a Sony ⍺7 IV
Video edited by Martino Gasparrini: https://www.fiverr.com/mgs_editing
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👩🏽💻 I’m Dr. Becky Smethurst, an astrophysicist at the University of Oxford (Christ Church). I love making videos about science with an unnatural level of enthusiasm. I like to focus on how we know things, not just what we know. And especially, the things we still don’t know. If you’ve ever wondered about something in space and couldn’t find an answer online – you can ask me! My day job is to do research into how supermassive black holes can affect the galaxies that they live in. In particular, I look at whether the energy output from the disk of material orbiting around a growing supermassive black hole can stop a galaxy from forming stars.
I absolutely love your bloopers 😂
95 percent of everything you see and hear about ufos on social media is bullshit.
I will never believe if someone detect technosignature and then that signature disappear to never be seen again. Imagine as intelligent life in 1905 physicist discover a way to transmit voices over radio waves and emit a signal, and then say "Nah! This tech is useless" and the radio never gets invented and the Earth remains quite and never emit technosignature in space.
Again, there is no Fermi paradox, the biggest question scientist must answer before we detect intelligent life on another planet is can we detect intelligent life on Earth (from outer space). While I am not completely sure, I think Earth has intelligent life and there are probably technosignatures, but if we cannot detect that from outer space, what change we have detecting alien technosignature on Earth.
What about the Doppler shift in the signal?
Dr Becky, the "American accent" that you did represents more of the uneducated part of America. We call that the Deep South. A better representation of a truly "American accent" would be more of a Colorado accent. Very neutral. In fact, in American colleges that have University level degrees in broadcasting teach using a Colorado or neutral accent which is why you get the same accent in Maine, California, Alabama, Washington, etc. as someone who was born in Colorado and lived there my entire life only to move to Alabama recently, I've seen that newscasters whether their anchors or reporters or meteorologists, use that neutral accent. Please make a note that you are offending some people in America. By the way Canada also teaches that neutral Colorado style accent in their a broadcasting colleges
TIL I am American for using the word trash.
I find it massively interesting how actively this is being "categorically" debunked. To make sure that EVERYONE understands, clearly and without any doubt there is NOTHING there. Absolutely. Zilch. The effort being put into it is really remarkable.
The New York Post is a tabloid, (junk) and not a real new source.
Hey Dr. Becky, as an FYI, I'm subscribed for all notifications for you and I haven't been getting them recently.
was there not a paper released where they proved that the signal could not have come from earth?, and that's why the signal have gotten new attention.
It's kind of arrogant attitude that's feeding the dogma in the scientific community. Instead of laughing at people i think we are better of brining fourth hour opinion in a neutral way.
As the saying goes “never let the truth get in the way of a good story”
This is EXACTLY what Londo WANTS you to 'think' and, he has succeeded. 🧐😎🖖
Simon Holland finding Protocol 2 in the SETI manual. "The principles of Protocol Two, elaborated by the IAA SETI Committee, apply only to the scenario of the reception of a verified alien intelligent radio signal." https://youtu.be/gYFAz7RvMX8?t=183 . Who does that sound like? Nothing to see here folks, move along. To say the ambient radio noise is "Earth trash" is not true and that is the background level on the falling waterfall spectrum display. The two received signals are much higher amplitude than the background radio "trash". The band from 1.5 GHz to 3.0 GHz is reserved for satellite and military use. But that is only USA FAA. China and Russia can use whatever band they want. However, it was long exposure in the direction of Proxima b. for many hours. What Simon Holland has is the hetrodyned audio of the RF waveform that was received with the distinctive doppler. A probe from another civilization entering Proxima b orbit is one possibility, not life on the planet but some life visiting it with a probe.
Heads up that youtube isn't pushing this video to your subscribers' subscription page.
So if the views are down you know what's atleast partly responsible.
Damn! That's disappointing.
For whatever reason you video didn't show up in the my subscription feed even though I've been subscribed to you for months.
Why didn't this video show up on my subscriptions Latest page?
So to have Doppler shift in that signal that was around 20 to 30 kilometers per second, would mean its in space. Next dipping the antenna off target tells you kind of where the source is. So we are left with faulty LEO satellites, that would likely mean it will repeat and would only be visible for a few minutes each time it orbits the Earth. I heard it was tracked 3 hours, 30 hours would allow other sites to also track it. So I am pretty sure this was very likely a detection. Because it doesn't repeat doesn't mean anything. I have done RF interference checks with satellite dishes myself.
Well done Agent Becky, your Smetherst bonus will be included with this months shipment of Ketracel-White.
Actually, I spoke to some one whese brothers friend’s uncle heard that an expert on the subject told his wife’s boss the he knew nothing at all about it, for what it is worth. 🤔
I've worked with a lot of scientists in my time and I've never met one that will openly admit when they've got something wrong. I'm going to subscribe to your channel in the hope that… if you are wrong about this, you will stand up and admit it. Good luck.
I like it when your mad😊
I'd love to know more about what a frequency comb is.
Thank you. I bought into the hype, but it's nice to know it wasn't true. Why everybody gotta lie.
It was ruled human interference just because it was never detected again from just 39 hours of observation? That's FARRR from definitive.
So the solar flare wasn’t the cause either and now it’s home interference?. As we have another YouTuber indicating that was the likely reason at the time the radio telescopes were pointed at the direction of Proxmia. So is it earth based or solar based?
The only thing I can glimmer from any of this is the internet is full of postulation and no concrete evidence of anything! Which we know anyway.
Lastly, don’t get mad Dr Becky.
Yes it is…… there will be a moment not far in the distance, all will come out.
This video didn't show up in my subscription list.
So the aliens were near earth. Got it!
I like how you criticize a guy who is saying you don't have all the information by saying you have all the information. I guess Oxford thinks they're the centre of the world.