Is Signal from HD164595 Evidence of Aliens or Just Another False Alarm?

Social media and news outlets the past few days have been abuzz with the prospects of a strong signal apparently coming from the star unromantically known at HD 164595, which is about 94 light years from Earth. Reading news reports, one would think that the signal was intercepted last week, but actually it was picked up over a year ago in May of 2015.

Indeed, the buzz is reminiscent of extensive news coverage that surrounded KIC 8462852, now known as Tabby's Star, last year when it was suggested by Penn State astronomer Jason Wright that the star's odd dimming behavior might be the result of an alien civilization building a mega-structure blocking the star's light. We've also seen recent fascination with the discovery of a rocky planet orbiting inside the habitable zone around Proxima Centauri, which is quite near (by galactic standards) Earth at a little over 4 light years distant. It's our next-door neighbor.

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