A telescope located in South Africa's Karoo region has detected a signal that originated billions of years ago, according to explain.co.za. The outlet reported the finding on Wednesday, 23 September 2026.
The signal was picked up by the Karoo-based instrument, which scans the sky for radio emissions reaching Earth from distant space. Because the signal has travelled for billions of years before arriving, it offers a look back at conditions that existed long before the present day. Explain.co.za framed the detection as a signal "from billions of years ago" and set out what the telescope found.
The Karoo, a semi-arid expanse in South Africa's interior, hosts radio astronomy infrastructure because its remote setting limits interference from human-made radio traffic. That quiet environment is what allows sensitive instruments there to register faint signals arriving from deep space.
Explain.co.za's report did not specify the exact source of the signal or the distance involved beyond the billions-of-years timeframe. The outlet's summary was limited to the detection itself and the telescope's location.
Further details on the signal's origin and what it reveals are expected to follow from the reporting. Readers should watch for follow-up coverage from explain.co.za and any technical release from the telescope team for specifics on the source and its scientific significance.
