Mysterious microwaves from space
Stories from Physics
for 11-14
14-16
Over a period of four years, scientists using the Parkes Radio Telescope in New South Wales, Australia had been detecting mysterious, fleeting bursts of radio signals. The researchers wrote a report on the preprint server ArXiv describing the strange broadcasts, which they labelled ‘perytons’. It was subsequently discovered that the signals could be replicated by directing the telescope in a particular direction and opening the door of the microwave in the facility’s break room.
References
C. Woolston, Microwave oven blamed for radio-telescope signals, 8th May, 2015, Nature Research Highlights Website, http://www.nature.com/news/microwave-oven-blamed-for-radio-telescope-signals-1.17510