A "strong signal' from outer space is catching the attention of scientists, particularly those at the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) project.
The signal was detected by a telescope in Russia, according to writer Paul Gilster, who runs the website Centauri Dreams. It comes from the direction of a star called HD 164595, which is about 95 light years from Earth.
There is no evidence yet that this signal comes from an alien civilization. But the signal is powerful enough that the researchers working on the RATAN-600 telescope, which detected the signal, are now "calling for permanent monitoring of this target."
Yet while the findings have generated buzz, not everyone is impressed with the evidence.
Eric Korpela, a research astronomer at University of California, Berkeley, wrote on a message board that "there's really nothing about this 'signal' that would distinguish it from a natural radio transient."
"There's also nothing that could distinguish it from a satellite passing through the telescope field of view," he wrote. "All in all, it's relatively uninteresting from a SETI standpoint."