It is the first time that a signal coming from a galaxy 9 billion light years away from Earth has been found by researchers.
The Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope in Pune, India, picked up the radio signal.
The massive radio telescope has a field of 30 dish antennas, each measuring around 150 feet in diameter and pointing skyward.
The 21-centimeter line, often known as the hydrogen line, is a distinctive radio signal with a distinctive wavelength that was discovered by scientists using this powerful telescope. Atoms of neutral hydrogen emit this signal.
Unfortunately, aliens did not send this unusual signal. It originates from the galaxy SDSSJ0826+5630. It is a “star forming galaxy.”
The radio signal’s unique feature is that it was produced when the Milky Way Galaxy, of which Earth is a member, was only 4.9 billion years old. The Milky Way Galaxy is thought to be 13.8 billion years old at the moment.
As a result, the signal took 9 billion years to reach Earth. The radio signal offers the scientists one option to travel back in time nine billion years.
Other radio signals from surrounding galaxies have been picked up, but this one is the farthest one so far.
Scientists have been able to measure the mass and gas abundance of the galaxy thanks to the radio signal from SDSSJ0826+5630. Using this data, researchers conclude that the galaxy in the distance may include stars that are twice as massive as those that can be seen from Earth.
In January 2023, a study that involved the finding of this radio signal was published.