My Authors
Read all threads
Some terminology I’ve seen cause some confusion in the media:

To most people, a “signal” from space implies something intentionally transmitted, like a beacon or a message 👋🏼👽

To an astronomer, it’s *any* radiation we pick up (like a burst of radiation from a star) 🌟
This has come up recently in media discussions of a newly detected #FastRadioBurst — described by astronomers as a “repeating signal” from the distant cosmos. It’s probably just some weird stellar emission process! All “signal” means to us is that we can detect a bit of radiation
Relatedly, to an astronomer, “radiation” usually means electromagnetic radiation, which is visible light, radio waves, gamma rays, or any other kind of light (visible or not) — not just the kind of radiation one gets from dangerous radioactive substances, or nuclear accidents.
Scientists also frequently use “signal” to mean the meaningful/interesting part of whatever data they have, in contrast to the “noise,” which is the rest of the data. Like a conversation you’re trying to listen to at a crowded party. High “signal-to-noise ratio” means clear/easy.
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh.

Enjoying this thread?

Keep Current with Katie Mack

Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

Twitter may remove this content at anytime, convert it as a PDF, save and print for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video

1) Follow Thread Reader App on Twitter so you can easily mention us!

2) Go to a Twitter thread (series of Tweets by the same owner) and mention us with a keyword "unroll" @threadreaderapp unroll

You can practice here first or read more on our help page!

Follow Us on Twitter!

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!


This site is made by just three indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3.00/month or $30.00/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Too expensive? Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal Become our Patreon

Thank you for your support!