Wow! Signal: Mysterious Radio Pulse from Deep Space
The Big Ear radio telescope captured an intense 72-second burst of radio waves that screamed from the constellation Sagittarius, prompting a volunteer to scribble "Wow!" in the margin of the printout. This single anomaly remains the strongest candidate for an extraterrestrial transmission ever detected, yet its origin stays unknown because the signal never repeated during subsequent scans.
August 15, 1977
49 years ago
Key Figures & Places
Ohio State University
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The Big Ear
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radio telescope
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Wow! signal
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SETI
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Ohio State University Radio Observatory
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Radio telescope
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Ohio State University
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Search for extraterrestrial intelligence
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Wow! signal
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Ohio
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United States
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Jerry Ehman
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What Else Happened on August 15
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Basque forces ambushed Charlemagne's rearguard at Roncevaux Pass in the Pyrenees, killing several Frankish nobles including Roland, the Warden of the Breton Mar…
Basque tribes ambushed Charlemagne’s rearguard in the Pyrenees, slaughtering his commanders, including the Frankish hero Roland. This tactical defeat halted Cha…
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