A reported optical SETI survey found two nearly identical flashes from the direction of the Sun-like star HD 89389, with a similar candidate event linked to 51 Pegasi in older data and another reported around HD 12051. The observations are real reports of changing starlight, but their cause is unknown. Nothing in the account establishes an extraterrestrial signal or communication.
What was recorded
Richard H. Stanton, a veteran NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory scientist, reported the most detailed event from HD 89389 in Ursa Major on May 14, 2023. The star is described as an F-type star about 100 light-years away. Its measured brightness rose and fell in two fast, essentially identical pulses separated by 4.4 seconds. Each change occurred over roughly 0.2 seconds before the signal returned to the star’s ambient level.
The headline’s “two distant stars” wording is a simplification. The detailed account discusses reported candidate events associated with three stars:
| Star | Distance and date | Reported pattern | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| HD 89389 | About 100 light-years; May 14, 2023 | Two similar pulses, 4.4 seconds apart; brightness changed over about 0.2 seconds | Featured observation reported by Stanton |
| HD 217014 (51 Pegasi) | About 50.6 light-years; September 30, 2019 | A similar event in historical data | Candidate event discussed in the account |
| HD 12051 | About 81 light-years; 2025 | A further event mentioned outside the paper’s main report | Reported observation, not an established stellar emission |
These descriptions identify where the telescope was pointed. They do not prove that the stars themselves emitted a structured beam; a foreground object, Earth’s atmosphere or the instrument could have altered the measured light.
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How the optical SETI search worked
Stanton surveyed more than 1,300 Sun-like stars with a 76.2-centimeter (30-inch) telescope at Shay Meadow Observatory in Big Bear, California. A multi-channel photometer that he designed sampled each target’s light every 100 microseconds. The observing routine watched a star for roughly an hour, then searched the resulting time series for very brief pulses and optical tones.
This is optical SETI: it looks for rapid changes in visible or near-visible light. It is not a radio SETI experiment, and it does not involve listening with a radio antenna. Ordinary visual observing cannot resolve a 0.2-second change or a 100-microsecond sampling interval; the reported method depends on photon-counting photometry and time-series analysis.
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Why the cause remains unknown
The report says the candidate events were compared with possible airplanes, satellites, meteors, lightning, atmospheric scintillation and instrument noise. It also considers diffraction by a foreground object and atmospheric refraction. Such comparisons narrow possibilities but do not demonstrate that every mundane explanation has been eliminated.
The central unknown has two parts: what produced the apparent variation, and what mechanism—if any—created the repeated pulse shape. A pattern that looks unusual in one telescope’s data can still arise from an unrecognized line-of-sight object, a transient atmospheric effect or a detector artifact. Conversely, the absence of an obvious explanation is not positive evidence for an artificial source.
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How competing explanations could be tested
| Hypothesis type | Where the effect occurs | Useful test | What remains to explain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foreground object or diffraction | Between Earth and the target star | Observe simultaneously with telescopes separated by substantial distances; parallax or timing differences could reveal a nearby moving cause | Whether it can reproduce two closely matched pulses 4.4 seconds apart |
| Atmospheric refraction or scintillation | Earth’s atmosphere | Compare sites, weather and atmospheric conditions while monitoring the same star | Why the variation has the reported fast, repeated structure |
| Instrument or processing effect | The detector, electronics or analysis pipeline | Use independent instruments, calibration sources and synchronized observations | Whether the pattern appears in data channels that should not share the same fault |
| Variation at or near the star | The stellar system or another distant location | Repeat observations with independent observatories and examine color, timing and recurrence | Whether a natural stellar process can produce the exact profile |
What the search history does—and does not—show
Stanton’s account says the search covered more than 1,500 hours without finding another similar single pulse. That rarity makes follow-up difficult: a non-repeating event provides little opportunity to test it under controlled conditions. It also means the reported pair should be treated as a candidate transient rather than a confirmed class of stellar behavior.
The proposed next step is coordinated observing with optical telescopes at widely separated locations. If the timing or visibility differs from site to site, researchers could test whether a moving foreground object or a local atmospheric effect is responsible. Agreement across independent, synchronized instruments would strengthen the case that the variation is astrophysical, although it still would not by itself demonstrate an intelligent transmission.
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What can responsibly be concluded
- The HD 89389 observation is a report of two rapid brightness changes from that star’s direction on May 14, 2023.
- The account includes similar candidate observations associated with 51 Pegasi and HD 12051, so the evidence is not limited to exactly two stars.
- The observations concern optical light measured with high-time-resolution photometry, not radio bursts.
- Several terrestrial, atmospheric, astronomical and instrumental explanations were considered, but the available report leaves the cause unresolved.
- There is no confirmed message, repeating beacon, technosignature or proof of extraterrestrial involvement.
Stanton put the evidentiary position plainly: “Until we learn more, we can’t even say whether or not extraterrestrials are involved!” The appropriate description is therefore unexplained optical transients reported during an optical SETI survey—not detected aliens.
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