The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence program is currently investigating a high-energy signal burst that originated from a star 95 light years away, in the constellation Hercules. SETI senior astronomer Seth Shostak cautions that this is unlikely to be an artificial signal, as there are a number of natural phenomena that could also have produced the signal.
The signal was recorded by Russian astronomers at the RATAN-600 radio telescope in Zelenchukskaya. Unfortunately, the signal was recorded on May 15, 2015, nearly a year and a half ago, a delay that severely hampers verification of the other signal from other telescopes. Nonetheless, SETI will be listening to the star on the off chance that there might be a repeat of the signal.
The good news is that the star the signal originated from, HD 164595, is a sun-like star that has at least one known Neptune-like planet in a close orbit around it, meaning that the system could also harbor one or more earth-like planets as well.
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