Renowned NASA filmmaker Simon Holland has claimed that Earth-based telescopes have detected signs of intelligent extraterrestrial life, with a potential announcement coming next month. Mr Holland, who has collaborated with the BBC and NASA-funded initiatives, asserted that an Oxford University-backed program dedicated to searching for extraterrestrial signals has made the groundbreaking discovery, the New York Post reported.

The filmmaker claimed that insiders from Mark Zuckerberg’s Breakthrough Listen project tipped him off that concrete evidence may be revealed within a month, possibly coinciding with the US election. This evidence might be linked to alien signals intercepted by the Parkes telescope in Australia, courtesy of researchers from the Oxford-based Breakthrough Listen initiative. 

“They found the evidence of a non-human technological signature a few years ago, using the Parkes telescope in Australia,” claimed Mr Holland.

The extraordinary claims have sparked a flurry of activity, with astronomers scrambling to gather evidence to substantiate the discovery. However, Simon Holland warns that a rival effort may be underway, suggesting that Chinese researchers might attempt to preempt the announcement.

”This is breaking news, as of yesterday, but the Chinese might be pipping them to the post, with their, FAST [Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope] program. It’s the largest telescope in the world since Arecibo,” Mr Holland told The Mirror.

Mr Holland further claimed that Chinese researchers are racing to publish findings on BLC-1 (Breakthrough Listen candidate 1), a promising signal detected by the Parkes Telescope in April 2019. BLC-1, emanating from Proxima Centauri, 4.2 light-years from Earth, is considered significant due to its single-point source origin, narrow band electromagnetic frequency (982 MHz) and Doppler shift, indicating a rotating planet.

Mr Holland believes this signal is unlikely to be human interference, as its characteristics are inconsistent with known natural phenomena. Breakthrough Listen has invested $100 million in telescope time to investigate five potential candidates, including BLC-1.

Dr Andrew Siemion from Berkeley’s Breakthrough Listen Science Program confirmed that researchers are still analysing BLC-1. If sufficient data confirms the signal’s technological origins, they will publish their findings. The Chinese are allegedly aware of BLC-1’s coordinates and may attempt to scoop the announcement. 

While this news is exciting, it’s essential to note that there’s currently no conclusive proof of extraterrestrial life. Astrobiologists have been studying the possibility of life beyond Earth, exploring extreme environments and chemically harsh ecosystems that could support life. The search for extraterrestrial life has been ongoing since the mid-20th century, with scientists using various methods to detect signs of life, including telescope data analysis and radio communications.

File picture of an aerial view of the U.S. Pentagon. A new Pentagon study has found no evidence of aliens or extraterrestrial intelligence in UFO sightings
| Photo Credit: AP

A U.S. Pentagon study released Friday that examined reported sightings of UFOs over nearly the last century found no evidence of aliens or extraterrestrial intelligence, a conclusion consistent with past U.S. government efforts to assess the accuracy of claims that have captivated public attention for decades.

The study from the Defense Department’s All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office analysed U.S. government investigations since 1945 of reported sightings of unidentified anomalous phenomena, more popularly known as UFOs. It found no evidence that any of them involved signs of alien life, or that the U.S. government and private companies had reverse-engineered extraterrestrial technology and had conspired to hide it from the public.

It dispelled claims, for instance, that a former CIA official had been involved in managing the movement of and experimentation on extraterrestrial technology and said a purported 1961 intelligence community document about the supposed extraterrestrial nature of UFOs was actually inauthentic.

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“All investigative efforts, at all levels of classification, concluded that most sightings were ordinary objects and phenomena and the result of misidentification,” said the report, which was mandated by Congress. Another volume of the report will be out later.

U.S. officials have endeavored to find answers to legions of reported UFO sightings over the years, but so far have not identified any actual evidence of extraterrestrial life. A 2021 government report that reviewed 144 sightings of aircraft or other devices apparently flying at mysterious speeds or trajectories found no extraterrestrial links but drew few other conclusions and called for better data collection.

The issue received fresh attention last summer when a retired Air Force intelligence officer testified to Congress that the U.S. was concealing a longstanding program that retrieves and reverse engineers unidentified flying objects. The Pentagon has denied his claims, and said in late 2022 that a new Pentagon office set up to track reports of unidentified flying objects — the same one that released Friday’s report — had received “several hundreds” of new reports but had found no evidence so far of alien life.

The authors of Friday’s report said the purpose was to apply a rigorous scientific analysis to a subject that has long captured the American public’s imagination.

“AARO recognizes that many people sincerely hold versions of these beliefs which are based on their perception of past experiences, the experiences of others whom they trust, or media and online outlets they believe to be sources of credible and verifiable information,” the report said.

“The proliferation of television programs, books, movies, and the vast amount of internet and social media content centered on UAP-related topics most likely has influenced the public conversation on this topic, and reinforced these beliefs within some sections of the population,” it added.