The idea may be a little out of this world. Ten years ago, scientists started noticing very brief, but powerful radio bursts coming from outer space. Called fast radio bursts, or FRBs, they have been identified as millisecond-long bursts of radio emission. Scientists believe these emissions were made in a group of stars billions of light years away from Earth. A new theory says the radio bursts may be evidence of highly developed alien life. A paper describing the theory was published this month in The Astrophysical Journal Letters. The bursts cannot be seen with the human eye, but were observed by very large radio telescopes. Many scientists believe that these powerful flashes may be related to the collapse of a massive star. But scientist Avi Loeb says researchers have yet to confirm any natural cause of the emissions. Loeb is chair of Harvard University’s Astronomy Department and works at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. He believes the bursts might be coming from powerful equipment, like a transmitter used on Earth to broadcast radio or television signals. He thinks the device could be as big as a planet and have enough power to send large spaceships great distances.