A radio technosignature search towards Proxima Centauri resulting in a signal of interest

The detection of life beyond Earth is an ongoing scientific pursuit, with profound implications. One approach, known as the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI), seeks to find engineered signals (‘technosignatures’) that indicate the existence of technologically capable life beyond Earth. Here, we report on the detection of a narrowband signal of interest at ~982 MHz, recorded during observations towards Proxima Centauri with the Parkes Murriyang radio telescope. This signal, BLC1, has characteristics broadly consistent with hypothesized technosignatures and is one of the most compelling candidates to date. Analysis of BLC1—which we ultimately attribute to being an unusual but locally generated form of interference—is provided in a companion paper. Nevertheless, our observations of Proxima Centauri are a particularly sensitive search for radio technosignatures towards a stellar target. A sensitive Breakthrough Listen search for technosignatures towards Proxima Centauri has resulted in a viable narrowband signal. The observational approach, using the Parkes Murriyang telescope, is described here, while the signal of interest is analysed in a companion paper by Sheikh et al.