@imastawka wrote:
What the hell is a microwave oven even doing in a facility that
searches for radio waves!!!
And they didn't notice that the waves spiked at lunchtime every day?
The rest of the scientific world must be wetting their collective pants
Maybe because it only caused inerference if opened before it finished cooking:
"Originally researchers assumed the signals – which appeared only once or twice a year – were coming from the atmosphere, possibly linked to lightning strikes.
Then on 1 January this year they installed a new receiver which monitored interference, and detected strong signals at 2.4 GHz, the signature of a microwave oven.
Immediate testing of the facility microwave oven did not show up with perytons. Until, that is, they opened the oven door before it had finished heating. “If you set it to heat and pull it open to have a look, it generates interference,” Johnston said.
Astronomers generally operate the telescope remotely and do not reside at Parkes. There were, however, a number of operational staff members who maintained the facility and used the microwave oven to heat their coffee or lunch."
