Stellar activity might be masking alien signals, says new study
Technology
SETI researchers say that space weather (turbulent plasma around stars) can mess with the super-narrow radio signals we look for as signs of alien life.
Their new study shows these signals get so smeared out by stellar activity that they often slip under our radar and go unnoticed.
Research team suggests searching at higher frequencies
This might explain why we haven't heard from extraterrestrials yet (even if they're out there, their messages could be getting lost in cosmic noise).
The team suggests searching at higher frequencies and tweaking our detection methods, especially around active red dwarf stars, to boost our chances of picking up real alien signals.