Scientists puzzled by alien home star emissions

UNITED NATIONS (AP)--Scientists studying Gibbons' Star, the home star of the aliens who broadcast the message to Earth that was received two years ago, are puzzled about a stream of subatomic particles coming from the star.

A representative of the United Nations Committee on Extraterrestrials said yesterday that researchers around the world have detected an increase in the levels of neutrinos, massless subatomic particles, coming from the aliens' star.

"We're not quite sure what to make of the [neutrino] hits," said Janice Yan, an astronomer coordinating alien research efforts for the U.N. "They may be coming from the star as a side effect of the aliens' solar mining operation, or they may some alien technology that we don't understand yet."

But Mark Hirsch, an astronomy professor at the University of Hawaii, said that the neutrino emissions may be much more sinister in nature.

"Traditionally, we see neutrinos right before a star goes nova," Hirsch said. "If this were any other star, I'd probably say we should watch it carefully. But considering this is the aliens' star, we'll be watching it carefully in any case."

Anton Zallian, an astronomer at the University of California, raised a stir last week when he told users of the Internet that he expects the star to go nova in the next few months.

"The neutrino levels continue to go up, and the U.N. doesn't want to admit the truth," Zallian said. "The aliens' star is going to go, and it's probably because of their solar mining."

Zallian predicted on the Internet that the star would go nova in early May, based on calculations he refused to reveal. "I will explain my methods when I pin down an exact date," he said. "It will take a few more weeks."

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