A powerful narrowband radio signal was detected in 1977 at the Big Ear Observatory in Delaware, Ohio, prompting astronomer Jerry Ehman to write 'Wow!' on the telescope readout. The burst lasted about 72 seconds and appeared at the hydrogen line frequency, a commonly suggested frequency for intentional interstellar contact. A modern reanalysis finds the signal's strength to be more than four times higher than earlier estimates. Multiple terrestrial and natural explanations have been definitively dismissed, with no known TV stations or satellites accounting for the event. The signal never repeated. A natural cause remains considered likely, but an extraterrestrial origin cannot be ruled out.
In 1977, scientists discovered a mysterious signal beaming from space that was so powerful it prompted astronomer Jerry Ehman to write 'Wow!' on the telescope's readout. For decades, scientists have debated whether this so-called 'Wow! signal' could have been an attempt at communication from a distant alien civilisation. Now, a team of experts has re-examined the signal's data with modern techniques and found that it could be even stranger than previously thought.
According to the new analysis, the Wow! signal was more than four times stronger than earlier estimates suggested. The scientists were also able to definitively dismiss a number of natural or human explanations. There were no known TV stations at that time which could have created the signal, nor were there any satellites passing overhead. And although scientists believe that the Wow! signal is likely to have a natural cause, they say alien sources can't yet be ruled out.
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