Scientists thought they had found aliens after hearing mysterious beeps - only to discover that it was actually a microwave.
A microwave gave scientists false hope about aliens
Boffins in Australia were excited when they picked up what they thought were messages from deep space before realising that it was just the kitchen device pinging.
The microwave mix-up was revealed by astrophysicist David Spergel at a meeting of a panel of experts assembled by NASA to analyse UFO sightings in Florida.
He said: "People couldn't figure out what was going on.
"What had happened was that the people in the observatory would heat up their lunch in the microwave. It produced a burst of radio signals that was picked up by sensitive detectors."
The panel also heard other amusing UFO mishaps, including one sighting from a US Air Force pilot that turned out to be a Bart Simpson balloon.