No, not that kind of excited.
When I read the headline on THIS article, I thought it possible, though unlikely, that an actual signal of intelligent life from somewhere else in the galaxy (pretty unlikely on this planet) had been detected.
Seriously, what would YOU think?
And if you read the article, it doesn't change your mind much, if you've jumped to a conclusion.
"The signals, which were detected by the Breakthrough Listen project, are coming from a planet called YZ Ceti, which is located about 130 light-years from Earth.
The discovery of these signals is a major step forward in the search for alien life. It is the first time that scientists have detected repeating radio signals from an Earth-like planet. The signals are also very strong, which suggests that they could be coming from an intelligent civilization."
Wait just a minute, I thought. I can't believe that they would make a statement like this, and yet have this not be major news all over this planet.
So I looked up the research paper.
Coherent radio bursts from known M-dwarf planet-host YZ Ceti
So let's read the abstract:
"Observing magnetic star–planet interactions (SPIs) offers promise for determining the magnetic fields of exoplanets. Models of sub-Alfvénic SPIs predict that terrestrial planets in close-in orbits around M dwarfs can induce detectable stellar radio emission, manifesting as bursts of strongly polarized coherent radiation observable at specific planet orbital positions. Here we present 2–4 GHz detections of coherent radio bursts on the slowly rotating M dwarf YZ Ceti, which hosts a compact system of terrestrial planets, the innermost of which orbits with a two-day period. Two coherent bursts occur at similar orbital phases of YZ Ceti b, suggestive of an enhanced probability of bursts near that orbital phase. We model the system’s magnetospheric environment in the context of sub-Alfvénic SPIs and determine that YZ Ceti b can plausibly power the observed flux densities of the radio detections. However, we cannot rule out stellar magnetic activity without a well-characterized rate of non-planet-induced coherent radio bursts on slow rotators. YZ Ceti is therefore a candidate radio SPI system, with unique promise as a target for long-term monitoring."
What's an "M dwarf", you ask?
It took me a bit of time to find a good explanation. This page is pretty good.
"A Class M star is the type that consists of some of the dimmest of the main sequence stars. Such main sequence Class M stars are known as red dwarfs, though the category can also include very late Class K stars that may be nearly convective and early Class L stars able to fuse hydrogen. They are typically described as red or red-orange. They are by far the most common type of luminous star, making up roughly 76% of all main sequence stars."
It notes that most M class stars are red dwarfs.
So, I guess, that the magnetic fields of the M-class dwarf YZ Ceti interact with the orbiting planet regularly, which generates these repeating radio signals.
Not quite as exciting as the detection of intelligent life in another solar system, but hey, it was interesting while it lasted.
Here's a more explanatory article about all of this, and I grabbed their illustration, too.
Astronomers Detect Radio Emission Associated with Magnetic Field of Nearby Exoplanet
"YZ Ceti and one of its three known planets, YZ Ceti b, provide an ideal pair because the planet is so close to the star that it completes a full orbit in only two days.
As plasma from YZ Ceti careens off the planet’s magnetic ‘plow,’ it then interacts with the magnetic field of the star itself, which generates radio waves strong enough to be observed on Earth.
The strength of those radio waves can then be measured, allowing astronomers to determine how strong the magnetic field of the planet might be."
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