Johannesburg – Recently, social media has been spreading information that South Africa has detected “radio signals from the past 11 billion years ago”. However, there is currently no solid evidence for this claim. Officially published scientific data only records some signals that are more distant than 10 billion years, not reaching the 11 billion year mark as rumored.
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| South Africa picks up 11 billion year old radio signal |
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| South Africa picks up 11 billion year old radio signal |
On March 4, 2024, the MeerKAT Observatory detected a fast radio burst (FRB) that was emitted more than 10 billion years ago. Many scientific reports do not mention the “11 billion year” mark (Sky & Telescope).
Signal from 10-billion-year-old mini-halo
A study using the LOFAR telescope (Europe) recorded a signal from a mini-halo – a region of high-energy particles between galaxies – about 10 billion years old (New York Post).
21-cm signal from neutral hydrogen
GMRT (India) detected a 21-cm signal from neutral hydrogen atoms that is 8.8–9 billion years old, the most distant 21-cm signal ever recorded (Live Science, Space, Sputnik, Wikipedia).
Signal Ages Summary
Signal Source Instrument/Observatory Signal AgeFRB (pulse)Meer KAT, South Africa>10 billion years Mini-halo LOFAR, Europe~10 billion years 21-cm signal (neutral hydrogen) GMRT, India~8.8.9 billion years
Conclusion: There is no published scientific data to confirm that South Africa picked up a radio signal from 11 billion years ago. It is likely that this information is rounded or misunderstood. Projects such as HIRAX and SKA in South Africa may yield further discoveries about the universe in the future.
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