The official newspaper of the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology published a report saying that China has possibly detected alien signals through a telescope that has been searching for extraterrestrial life since 2020. After quickly going viral, the report was deleted from the government-funded newspaper website without explanation.

China’s “Sky High” telescope

The original article published this week said the world’s largest telescope, the “Sky Eye,” located in China’s Guizhou province, had detected “signals” while observing data from exoplanets. Chief scientist Zhang Tonjie described the mysterious signals as something they had never previously encountered and added that “there were several cases of possible technological traces and extraterrestrial civilizations from outside the earth.”

Tonjie also alluded that the mysterious signals could be “some kind of radio interference that is also very high, and needs to be further confirmed and ruled out.”

Back in September of 2020, The 500-meter, single-dish “Sky Eye” was put into service with the goal of detecting life on other planets. According to the Chinese government, “Sky Eye” cost $180 million to build. It’s operation costs are approximately $60,000 a day.