In 1982, we held our collective breath as a little boy named Elliott desperately struggled to help his little alien buddy “phone home” in “E.T. – The Extra-Terrestrial”. The diminutive, so-ugly-it-was-cute critter had to somehow contact his home world before he died from some unknown illness assumed to be associated with being on Earth. As the movie’s popularity soared, people everywhere could be heard quipping, “E.T. Phone home!” Even today, you can hear that quote used frequently as an attempt to inject humor into some activity around an attempt to communicate. Most of the time, people try to imitate the squeaky vocal tones that E.T. had in order to accentuate the hilarity.

But what if E.T. is trying to phone us here on Earth from his home somewhere in the distant universe? Realistically, it’s unlikely, but the phone is ringing.

Scientists with radio telescopes pointed all over the sky have recently detected a repeating signal known as a Fast Radio Burst (FRB). The burst has a predictable 16-day cycle. The signal comes for about four days, goes silent for twelve days, and then comes back. It repeats over and over again.

Riiiiiiinnnnnng!

Is it an attempt to reach out to humanity by an alien civilization? It sounds really exciting to think about it that way, but the reality is probably not so intriguing. The first problem with a signal like this is distance. Astronomers have deduced that the signal is coming from a point in space some 500 million light years away. So, if someone did key the mic and say, “Breaker, breaker 1-9” or some other equivalent greeting, they did it half a billion years ago. I’m pretty sure they have hung up by now.

The place from which the signal is emitting is just as mysterious as the signal itself. It’s a weird V-shaped area along the outer spiral edge of a massive galaxy. The area is kind of a stellar nursery of sorts, churning out new stars to populate the galaxy. Maybe the process of making stars is causing the signal. Maybe not.

FRBs are not entirely new. The first one was detected in 2001. Most of them are one-time occurrences lasting only a few milliseconds. Rarely do they repeat. When they do, they raise suspicion and intrigue. Not just because they repeat, but because they are somehow different from those that don’t – maybe. It’s one of those fields where scientists are just beginning to get a grip, and it’s a tenuous grip at best.

Theories abound as to the origin of these signals. They could be caused by colliding neutron stars, pulsars, black holes, or even some exotic, as-yet unproven new type of star called a blitzar. (The concept of a blitzar was devised specifically as an attempt to explain FRBs.)

Of course, none of these theories are as much fun to think about as the one that has a little alien creature on the other end of the signal holding a telephone receiver to his ear, hopefully waiting for someone on the other end to pick up.

All of this mystery and our inability to fully grasp it points to the overall majesty and complexity of the universe in which we live. I’m a hard-core creationist. I believe our universe and everything in it was crafted by a loving and all-powerful God. Is life on this planet the only life He created? I have no idea, but there’s nothing that could prevent Him from doing so should He so desire. Will we ever meet intelligent life from other planets? If it exists, then it is certainly possible, but only after we overcome the challenges presented by the vast distance between stars and galaxies. Our current understanding of physics flatly precludes any successful travels to distant star systems. The distances and the limits imposed by the speed of light seem to render such thoughts into fantasy.

But – new revelation appears almost daily. If our Creator has not made us to be alone, then He will enable us to gain the understanding required to eventually meet our celestial brethren.

This article was written by Tilmer Wright, Jr. His first novel, Motes, deals extensively with the subject of incremental revelation, as discussed in this article. If you have ever pondered about humanity’s place in this universe or wondered at the scale of the reality that surrounds us, you might enjoy reading it.

You can find links to Tilmer’s books at the following location: https://www.amazon.com/Tilmer-Wright/e/B00DVKGG4K%3Fref=dbs_a_mng_rwt_sc...

His author information web site is here: http://www.tilmerwrightjr.com/

The photo of the Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope is by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and is in the public domain.