An Interesting SETI Candidate in Hercules

We should not get our hope too high. It is 6.3 billion light years away, the signal generated even before our solar system existed. See also "Possible Signs of Extraterrestrial Intelligence?" [1] from February discussing the then hot Tabetha's Star / alien megastructure.

[1] http://www.skyandtelescope.com/astronomy-blogs/cosmic-relief...

Looks like it could be similar to the Wow signal, a brief strong transient that was never re-observed. Hopefully this time, the Allen Telescope Array can keep an eye on it long term.

An issue in SETI is the duty cycle problem. If a transmitter is cycling between targets (an isotropic beacon would require insane amounts of power), the receiver needs to be looking at the transmitter at the right time.