The Wow! signal A strong narrowband radio signal recorded by the Big Ear telescope on 15 August 1977. It lasted the full 72 second window the telescope had on any point, and it never recurred.
1 Sources 9 Connections Big Ear radio telescope Nickname of the now defunct Ohio State University Radio Observatory. It could watch any given point in the sky for just 72 seconds.
1 Sources 1 Connections Jerry R. Ehman An astronomer. Reviewing the data a few days later, he circled the reading on the printout and wrote Wow! beside it. In 1998 he gave the frequency as 1420.4556 MHz.
1 Sources 2 Connections 6EQUJ5 The signal's intensity over time as printed. It is a measurement, not a message; the strongest reading, U, sits about thirty standard deviations above the background noise.
1 Sources 2 Connections The hydrogen line The 1420.4058 MHz radio emission of neutral hydrogen. The Wow! signal's frequency sat close to it.
1 Sources 1 Connections Toward Sagittarius The signal came from roughly 2.5 degrees south of the fifth magnitude star group Chi Sagittarii.
1 Sources 1 Connections John Kraus Director of the observatory. In a 1994 summary written for Carl Sagan he gave the frequency as 1420.3556 MHz.
1 Sources 1 Connections The searches Ehman searched again and again with Big Ear, and Robert Gray tried the far more sensitive Very Large Array in 1995 and 1996. The signal was never detected again.
1 Sources 1 Connections The comet hypothesis In 2017 Antonio Paris proposed two comets as the source. Astronomers, including members of the original Big Ear team, dismissed it.
1 Sources 1 Connections The hydrogen cloud hypothesis In August 2024 Méndez and colleagues posted a preprint, based on Arecibo data, proposing that stellar emission briefly energised a cold hydrogen cloud. It is not a confirmed explanation.
1 Sources 1 Connections detected circled records the strength of came from the direction of was close in frequency to reported a frequency for reported a frequency for failed to find again was offered, and dismissed, as the source of is proposed as the source of Control map, One finger scrolls the page. Two fingers move or zoom the map.
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Item The Wow! signal A strong narrowband radio signal recorded by the Big Ear telescope on 15 August 1977. It lasted the full 72 second window the telescope had on any point, and it never recurred. User contribution ↑ detected It recorded the signal on 15 August 1977. Sources 1 Place Big Ear radio telescope Nickname of the now defunct Ohio State University Radio Observatory. It could watch any given point in the sky for just 72 seconds. User contribution ↑ records the strength of It is the strength of the signal across the 72 seconds. Sources 1 Concept 6EQUJ5 The signal's intensity over time as printed. It is a measurement, not a message; the strongest reading, U, sits about thirty standard deviations above the background noise. User contribution Person Jerry R. Ehman An astronomer. Reviewing the data a few days later, he circled the reading on the printout and wrote Wow! beside it. In 1998 he gave the frequency as 1420.4556 MHz. User contribution ↓ circled He circled 6EQUJ5 and wrote Wow! beside it. Sources 1 Concept 6EQUJ5 The signal's intensity over time as printed. It is a measurement, not a message; the strongest reading, U, sits about thirty standard deviations above the background noise. User contribution ↓ reported a frequency for He gave 1420.4556 MHz in 1998. Sources 1 Item The Wow! signal A strong narrowband radio signal recorded by the Big Ear telescope on 15 August 1977. It lasted the full 72 second window the telescope had on any point, and it never recurred. User contribution Concept 6EQUJ5 The signal's intensity over time as printed. It is a measurement, not a message; the strongest reading, U, sits about thirty standard deviations above the background noise. User contribution ↑ circled He circled 6EQUJ5 and wrote Wow! beside it. Sources 1 Person Jerry R. Ehman An astronomer. Reviewing the data a few days later, he circled the reading on the printout and wrote Wow! beside it. In 1998 he gave the frequency as 1420.4556 MHz. User contribution ↓ records the strength of It is the strength of the signal across the 72 seconds. Sources 1 Item The Wow! signal A strong narrowband radio signal recorded by the Big Ear telescope on 15 August 1977. It lasted the full 72 second window the telescope had on any point, and it never recurred. User contribution Item The Wow! signal A strong narrowband radio signal recorded by the Big Ear telescope on 15 August 1977. It lasted the full 72 second window the telescope had on any point, and it never recurred. User contribution ↑ detected It recorded the signal on 15 August 1977. Sources 1 Place Big Ear radio telescope Nickname of the now defunct Ohio State University Radio Observatory. It could watch any given point in the sky for just 72 seconds. User contribution ↓ came from the direction of About 2.5 degrees south of Chi Sagittarii. Sources 1 Place Toward Sagittarius The signal came from roughly 2.5 degrees south of the fifth magnitude star group Chi Sagittarii. User contribution More shared clues (8) AI research is a draft. Read the sources and check the context.
