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Here’s how we could begin decoding an alien message using math

A new mathematical approach looks for order in strings of bits

A photo of a radio telescope pointing toward the night sky where the milky way can be seen.

If aliens sent us a message, a new mathematical approach could reveal the number and size of the message’s dimensions.

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By Matthew Hutson

One of the most famous messages ever beamed to space was a string of 1,679 bits sent by the Arecibo radio telescope in 1974. But if E.T. sent us such a string, how could we Earthlings even begin to decode it? A new mathematical approach proposes a way.