https://www.space.com/wow-signal-origin-star
(Source: Big Ear Radio Observatory / NAAPO / Above article)
Researchers may have pinpointed the source of a famous supposed alien broadcast discovered nearly a half century ago.
The prominent and still-mysterious Wow! Signal, which briefly blared in a radio telescope the night of Aug. 15, 1977, may have come from a sun-like star located 1,800 light-years away in the constellation Sagittarius.
"The Wow! Signal is considered the best SETI candidate radio signal that we have picked up with our telescopes," Alberto Caballero, an amateur astronomer, told Live Science. SETI, or the search for extraterrestrial intelligence, is a field that has been listening for possible messages from otherworldly technological beings since the middle of the 20th century, according to NASA.
Appearing during a SETI search at the Ohio State University's Big Ear telescope, the Wow! Signal was incredibly strong but very brief, lasting a mere 1 minute and 12 seconds, according to a report written by its discoverer(opens in new tab), astronomer Jerry Ehman, in honor of its 30th anniversary.
I feel like I see these stories once every two to three years, each offering a new theory . But here, they seem to have narrowed it down to a specific sun-like star around 1800 light years away.
Of course, even if they're right about where it came from, that still doesn't tell us what produced it. I think the default assumption has to be that it was some kind of natural event (and we know of some candidates) - but it would be nice to have this mystery solved!
(Source: Big Ear Radio Observatory / NAAPO / Above article)
Researchers may have pinpointed the source of a famous supposed alien broadcast discovered nearly a half century ago.
The prominent and still-mysterious Wow! Signal, which briefly blared in a radio telescope the night of Aug. 15, 1977, may have come from a sun-like star located 1,800 light-years away in the constellation Sagittarius.
"The Wow! Signal is considered the best SETI candidate radio signal that we have picked up with our telescopes," Alberto Caballero, an amateur astronomer, told Live Science. SETI, or the search for extraterrestrial intelligence, is a field that has been listening for possible messages from otherworldly technological beings since the middle of the 20th century, according to NASA.
Appearing during a SETI search at the Ohio State University's Big Ear telescope, the Wow! Signal was incredibly strong but very brief, lasting a mere 1 minute and 12 seconds, according to a report written by its discoverer(opens in new tab), astronomer Jerry Ehman, in honor of its 30th anniversary.
I feel like I see these stories once every two to three years, each offering a new theory . But here, they seem to have narrowed it down to a specific sun-like star around 1800 light years away.
Of course, even if they're right about where it came from, that still doesn't tell us what produced it. I think the default assumption has to be that it was some kind of natural event (and we know of some candidates) - but it would be nice to have this mystery solved!
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