One signal

Researchers have used machine learning to re-examine unexplained flashes in historical astronomical images taken before Sputnik. Their analysis reinforced earlier findings that the flashes were less common in Earth’s shadow and more likely near the dates of mid-century US nuclear tests, according to 404 Media’s account of a new study.

Those patterns do not settle what the objects were. The researchers say possible explanations range from defects in the images to unusual physical phenomena; the study’s more extraordinary possibilities remain hypotheses, not evidence of alien technology.

Discuss: What should count as persuasive evidence for a genuine transient in old astronomical images when both the data and the detection methods leave room for error?

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