For a long time, humanity has encountered a few radio signals emanating from outer space scientists haven't come close to explain. Now, however, a big step forward was taken when astronomers recorded the signal live for the first time.

This particular signal, also known as a radio "burst", was first identified in May 15, 2014 but was only recently reported by the Monthly Notices of Royal Astronomical Society.

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Emily Petroff, a doctoral student from Melbourne's Swineburne University of Technology, said the burst was identified within 10 seconds of its occurrence.

"The importance of the discovery was recognized very quickly and we were all working very excitedly to contact other astronomers and telescopes around the world to look at the location of the burst," she added.

Still, the origin of the burst remains unknown. What scientists do know is the bursts are bright flashes of visible radio waves that emit as much energy as the Sun does within only a few milliseconds.

Apart from that, scientists know these signals aren't a new phenomenon. Petroff spoke to FoxNews.com and said the first radio burst was discovered in 2007. They've also found eight more on record in old and archived data.

Researchers from around the world such as Hawaii, Germany, Chile, and California continue to look through their telescopes to try and identify the signals' origins.

As with anything space-related, there are theories positing the signals could have come from an alien species. Petroff shoots down the theory and says \ they are confident it came from natural sources, not aliens.

The two leading theories are that the bursts were emitted by a star producing a highly energetic flare, or by a collapsing neutron star on its way to becoming a black hole.

Their investigation continues into the source of these mysterious radio signals.

TagsRadio signals, Bursts, caught, live