Way Back In 1977 Something Amazing Happened (apart From The Release Of Star Wars Obviously). Astronomer

Alien ‘Wow!’ signal could be explained after almost 40 years

A former analyst with the US Department of Defence is on the trail of an astronomical ‘cold case’ – an unexplained signal that some believe could have come from extraterrestrials

Way back in 1977 something amazing happened (apart from the release of Star Wars obviously). Astronomer Jerry Ehman was using the Ohio State University’s Big Ear radio telescope to sweep the sky for possible signals from extraterrestrial civilisations. He found something.

While pointing towards a grouping of stars called Chi Sagittarii on 15 August, he received a powerful blast of radio waves that lasted for 72 seconds. He circled it on the readout and wrote: “Wow!”

Analysis of the signal showed that it displayed all the hallmarks of coming from interstellar space, and it became something of a cause célèbre for those involved in SETI, the search for extraterrestrial intelligence.

The trouble is that despite numerous attempts, the signal has never been observed again and so remains unexplained. Until now perhaps, thanks to the work of Professor Antonio Paris of St Petersburg College, Florida.

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