User:Kiwismashi/sandbox
 Artist’s impression of Teegarden’s Star b, the identified origin of the Teegarden signal | |
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Jennifer Frazier-Smith |
| Discovery site | Allen Telescope Array |
| Discovery date | June 1, 2025 |
Teegarden's signal, alternatively referred to as Our Only Warning, was a powerful radio signal detected on June 1, 2025 by Hat Creek Radio Observatory (HCRO), an observatory operated by SRI International in the United States. The signal was detected by Jennifer Frazier-Smith, a low-ranking employee of the SETI Institute who was reviewing data from the Allen Telescope Array in California. It remains the first and only verified case of communication from extraterrestrial life.
Teegarden's signal is regarded as the most significant event of the 21st-century due to its far-reaching impact on philosophy, politics, and religion. Its content, which included descriptions of its senders and alarming warnings about a hostile extraterrestrial force, provoked mass panic and is commonly regarded as inciting the Anti-Astronomy Movement[1] of the late 2020s, controversially regarded by many as being a terrorist organization, political movement, or cult. [2][3]
Discovery
[edit]On June 1, 2025, Jennifer Frazier-Smith, an employee of the SETI Institute, was conducting routine review of automated analysis of data received by the Allen Telescope Array. According to the SETI Institute, Teegarden's signal arrived as an unprecedented fast radio burst (FRB) signal and was automatically flagged by the Array's computer systems upon its arrival.
The SETI Institute processed the signal's contents over the following hours and are alleged by Frazier-Smith to have held a number of closed-door meetings discussing the signal afterward. At 2:05 pm PDT, the Institute issued a public statement to the about their findings, flooding social media platforms and news outlets with their linguist Dr. Fischer Graves' translations of the signal. The afternoon saw rioting throughout the United States and sparked political crises in a majority of nations.
Content of the signal
[edit]Structure
[edit]The original signal was reportedly composed of a binary mathematical language that was deciphered quickly, but translating its contents into human languages proved more controversial. The signal was built of three briefly truncated radio bursts that arrived one at a time, sixty seconds apart, and were identified by translators of the signal as meaning "Description of sender," "Stated purpose," and "Our only warning."
Section 1. Description of sender
[edit]The signal briefly identified its origin as the exoplanet Teegarden's Star b, which had been regarded as a possible candidate for extraterrestrial life since its initial discovery in 2019. Brief, identifying information about the planet portrayed an earth-like exoplanet home to an intelligent form of aquatic life. Vast segments of seemingly relevant information about their biology, civilization, and its technology were omitted. Some scientists have regarded the identifying information as "rushed" and "compiled as though in a great hurry."[4]
Section 2. Stated purpose
[edit]Further contents were controversially translated into English by linguist Fischer Graves, an employee of SETI, as follows:
"I am observing you. I believe you will receive this message. We are all being killed. Before we are gone we will warn you."
Graves' translation of the signal was swiftly challenged by physicist Michio Kaku who offered, in collaboration with a team of linguists and expert academics, a competing translation:
"We are all observing you, and we need you to receive this message. We are dying. When we are gone, you will need this warning."
Section 3. Our only warning
[edit]The final portion of the signal was translated by Fischer Graves to read:
"We looked too far. We found you but we also found them. They are the beasts. The universe is dangerous. Do not let anyone in. Hide yourself. Don't come looking. We will be gone and you are alone with them. This can be our only warning."
Kaku and a large group of academics throughout the international community condemned this particular translation as sensationalist, and designed to frighten the populace. Their competing translation read:
"We have made mistakes. There are others out there. Some are like animals. This universe can be dangerous. Do not let animals in. You have to shield yourself and be careful. No need to come here. We will be gone, but you are not alone. This can be our only warning."
Scientific consensus and controversy
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Despite scientific consensus that the signal was genuine and confirmed the existence of extraterrestrial life, many public figures and academics dispute the initial translations of Fischer Graves, asserting in a number of papers and public statements that Graves' translations were unsubstantiated, deliberately frightening, and meant to incite chaos and anti-science beliefs[2][3]. In the international community, a variety of translations emerged, further complicating consensus. For instance, Korean linguist Seung Mee-Kyong published a translation which portrayed the signal as an explicit threat from the senders themselves.[2]
Amid mounting accusations that he had translated the signal incorrectly and allegations of past sexual harassment, Graves died by suicide [2][3] at the age of 58 on July 2, 2025. The SETI Institute was embroiled in controversy and legal challenges about its handling of the signal, resulting in its eventual shutdown and a number of successful lawsuits against the organization.
Michio Kaku, Neil deGrasse Tyson, and others aligned themselves under the banner of a series of talk campaigns titled "What Now?" They argued that Graves suffered from mental health issues and was viewing the signal through an unreasonably negative light colored by his own anxiety and human fear of the unknown. They suggested that the signal was a message from a dying civilization urging humanity to be responsible and cautious about alien life in the universe.
Experts have stated that the use of the term animals over beasts more properly captures the message[2], suggesting that the alien life the signal mentions may actually be low intelligence animal life, perhaps dangerous to humans due to the risk of extraterrestrial pathogens. Nevertheless, "What Now?" speakers urge humanity to continue as usual, "curious but careful" about life in outer space. "What Now?" talks placed great emphasis on the vastness of space, arguing that the signal likely originated thousands of years in the past and was therefore a cause for celebration, not alarm. Jennifer Frazier-Smith publicly challenged this assertion, arguing that the signal possessed numerous unusual characteristics and could have been sent sooner through the use of a wormhole or unknown technology.
Tyson attracted controversy and was later removed from the "What Now?" campaign in November 2025 after he humorously floated the concept that the signal could have been a prank meant to scare humans, referencing the possibility of "adolescent aliens with minds as juvenile as ours" bearing hypothetical responsibility for sending the signal.
Rise of the Anti-Astronomy Movement
[edit]
The Anti-Astronomy Movement[1] first arose in online communities following Graves' suicide. The movement, which disputes the title and later began referring to itself as Silence is Safety, formally organized on August 28th, 2025. Despite the backing of some established scientists, is is widely considered by experts to be internally corrupt, primitivist, conspiratorial, and anti-science by critics. It has been labeled by some experts as a terrorist organization after the NASA Bombings which were perpetrated by a Michigan man whose manifesto referenced online writings about Graves and his translations.
In September 2025, the movement published a set of founding assertions:
- We assert that Dr. Fischer Graves did not die by suicide and was instead killed by those who do not want to heed the warning.
- We assert that Teegarden's signal clearly suggests that a hostile race of beings destroyed those who sent it, who were warning us that the hostile race is likely to destroy us too.
- We assert that all human activity which might be discoverable as signals to an observing civilization must cease NOW, no matter the inconvenience.
- We assert that all people engaged in deceit about the signal must be held accountable in courts of law.
Jennifer Frazier-Smith aligned herself with the movement following Graves' suicide, endorsing unfounded conspiracy theories that Graves had been murdered. She rose to lead the movement until her indictment in February 2026 for charges of cyberterrorism for allegedly plotting the mass-distribution of highly contagious malware that would have effectively destroyed the internet. While evading arrest in Grand Teton National Park, Frazier-Smith issued an impromptu online address denying the allegations, supported Graves' theory that Earth is a vulnerable target, and called for violent resistance. The Trial of Jennifer Frazier-Smith is ongoing.
Global aftermath
[edit]
In the weeks following the discovery of Teegarden's signal, over 70 countries experienced great social unrest. Rioting, looting, bombing, and violent attacks against government buildings and academic institutions became commonplace throughout the ongoing Signal Crisis. Violent crime and militia uprisings throughout the United States caused over 2 billion dollars in damages, approximately 900,000 confirmed deaths, as well as mass injury and psychological harm. The day-long July 20th Coup Attempt resulted in the deaths of thousands of American soldiers and government personnel, including the Secretary of Defense. Universities, observatories, and state capitol buildings were the most frequent targets of riots. Distraught groups included those identifying with the Anti-Astronomy Movement, Christian Nationalist groups who decried the signal as a hoax, and numerous religious groups expressing differing spiritual beliefs about extraterrestrial life. Amid rising bombings of observatories, over one-hundred universities suspended classes and non-maintenance personnel for the ensuing year.
Internal chaos in NATO countries prompted China to invade Taiwan in September 2025. Unrest across China upended the war effort, resulting in a stalemate. Following the United States' lack of military response to China's invasion, Iran launched an Invasion of Israel that same month, resulting in the first deployment of nuclear weapons in wartime since World War II and causing catastrophic radioactive contamination of the Mediterranean Sea. Separately, a number of smaller, ongoing regional conflicts broke out in Europe, South Asia, and Central America. Some experts estimate that the total fallout of the Teegarden signal may eventually rival the Black Plague in its percentage toll on human life, and may already constitute an extinction event due to its destructive impact on global ecosystems.
Response and future
[edit]Despite ongoing war, ninety world leaders convenied at the Teegarden Summit in Geneva on June 1, 2026 with the stated aim of aligning humanity's consensus on how to respond to the signal. Though their deliberations were not made public, the summit resulted in the signing of the Geneva Future Accord which insisted humanity "rise to this occasion" by continuing to observe space closely despite uncertainty about the intent of extratterestrial life. The accord dismissed requests by the Anti-Astronomy Movement to "go silent" at a technological level on grounds that doing so would dramatically reduce human quality of life, causing a population collapse. Most controversially, the accord secured funding for a number of joint measures to study Teegarden's Star b, including the planned broadcast of a peaceful message in return.
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