Astronomers already knew there was at least one planet, about 17 times the mass of Earth, circling that star, which is 94 light years from here and goes by the unheroic designation of HD164595.

But there were also problems, the Russians, led by Alexander Panov of Lomonosov Moscow State University, realized. The signal appeared only once in 39 observations, and to produce the observed signal at such a distance would take a transmitter with the power of at least a trillion watts, comparable to the total energy consumption of all humankind.

Moreover, the design of the Russian telescope, known as Ratan-600, a giant circle of antennas in the Caucasus near Georgia, leaves it susceptible, astronomers say, to radiation from unwanted directions, increasing the chances of interference from military or other terrestrial sources.

Word finally got out a few days ago. Claudio Maccone, a member of the team and chairman of the SETI committee of the International Academy of Astronautics, circulated a description of the observations in advance of a SETI meeting to be held on Sept. 27 in Guadalajara, Mexico. While the report did not claim that this was an alien detection, it did say, “Permanent monitoring of this target is needed.”

In an email on Aug. 29, Dr. Maccone said he agreed. “I certainly share the view that it is likely not an intelligent signal,” he said. “Nevertheless it had to be PUBLISHED, rather than being kept secret for over a year, and this is what I did: convince the Russians to publish it.”