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) 🌟
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.
