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Photo BigEar.org |
On August 15, 1977 at 11:16 PM eastern daylight savings
time the Ohio State University Radio Observatory (OSURO), or affectionately
called the “Big Ear” radio telescope in Delaware, Ohio, recorded what is now
known as the “Wow!” signal. At the time the signal came in no one was at the
facility. A few days later (possibly August 19th) Jerry R. Ehman was
reviewing printouts that were delivered to him at his home from Gene Mikesell,
a technician who was in charge of taking care of the IBM computer that was
doing all the work at the site. Every 3 to 4 days Gene would stop, reset, and
then restart the computer due to its limited amount of room for data and then
bring the stack of printouts to Ehman to look through. The men were part of a
volunteer effort to detect narrow band signals that could possibly be sent from
an extraterrestrial source known as the SETI project, short for the Search for
Extraterrestrial Intelligence, which uses various satellites to search for signals
in space. Ehman and others involved in the project had formerly worked at the
radio telescope until the National Science Foundation suddenly shut off funding
in August of 1972. In December of 1973 until 1995 the radio telescope was used
for the volunteer effort of the SETI project after it had completed a radio
survey of the Andromeda Galaxy in 1963 and the Ohio Sky Survey between 1965 and
1971.
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Color copy of the signal with a note from Jerry Ehman on December 18, 1999 on display at Perkins Observatory in Delaware, Ohio. (click to enlarge) |
As Jerry sat and reviewed the printouts he suddenly saw
the data from a few days prior. In a vertical column with the alphanumerical
sequence “6EQUJ5”, that represents 72 seconds worth of information gathered
from the radio telescope, he circled the data and wrote “Wow!” in the margin.
The alphanumeric code essentially describes the intensity variation of the
signal and it has been given two different values for its frequency within the
1420 Megahertz range which puts it in the hydrogen line frequency. What does
this mean for searching for extraterrestrials? SETI believed that since hydrogen
is the most common element in the universe extraterrestrials might use that
frequency to transmit a strong signal. The problem is researchers have been
unable to find the signal from the original source of the constellation
Sagittarius, near the Chi Sagittarii star group.
John Kraus, Bob Dixon, Ehman, and others poured over the
data and attempted to find a cause. All terrestrial causes were ruled out, in
the words of Ehman ruled out means “to assign a very low probability to.” The
researchers also considered other celestial explanations, but nothing could satisfactorily
explain the data. Unfortunately, the data was limited due to the technology and
software used, and since it was never repeated does not offer any additional
help to ever be solved.
In 2016 a new hypothesis was presented after nearly 40
years of a lack of a definitive answer. Antonio Paris, a professor of astronomy
at St Petersburg College in Florida, and Evan Davies proposed that the signal actually
originated from one of two comets that were flying by at the time. Many
researchers feel that since the signal has not been observed again from the
same origin that it must have been something passing through the area between
the observation point and the intended target of the Sagittarius constellation.
James Bauer of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, is
skeptical of this hypothesis since the comet would have to release a
significant amount of hydrogen to produce such a signal. Paris states that in
order to rule out the comets his hypothesis needs to be tested. Comet
266P/Christensen will be back in that region on January 25, 2017, and P/2008 Y2
(Gibbs) on January 7, 2018. By studying their radio emission and how quickly
they move in the sky, astronomers should be able to tell if it really was this
that produced the “Wow!” signal.
Some may think that Antonio Paris is just here to ruin
the longstanding belief that this is a piece of leading evidence in the support
of life outside of the Earth. Paris is the founder and director of the Aerial
Phenomena Investigation team that is a worldwide effort to actively research
and investigate UFO claims. His goal is not to discredit Ehman, but to hopefully
provide answers that have plagued this code for so long.
The computer that captured the "Wow!" signal in 1977 on display at Perkins Observatory in Delaware, Ohio |
The “Big Ear” observatory was built from 1956 to 1961 and
was first turned on in 1963. The concrete structure was built on the grounds
near the Perkins Observatory that was built starting in 1923 and was not
completed until 1931 when the 69 inch mirror was finally installed for the
telescope. The “Big Ear” was last used in 1997. While the Perkins Observatory
still stands the Ohio State University Radio Observatory was demolished in 1998
due to a variety of circumstances as the land was sold to developers. The area
where this historic signal was detected is now part of a golf course. An Ohio
historical marker stands near the entrance to the golf course on highway 23
known as Columbus Pike just south of downtown Delaware, Ohio.
Pieces of the reflector screen of the "Big Ear" radio telescope on display at Perkins Observatory |
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Exterior of the Perkins Observatory on the night of my visit |
Resources:
- News story about Antonio Paris and his new hypothesis: IFL Science
- Hydrogen Clouds from Comets 266/P Christensen and P/2008 Y2 (Gibbs)are Candidates for the Source of the 1977 “WOW” Signal: The paper submitted by Paris and Davies
- “Big Ear” observatory memorial website
- In depth explanation of the “Wow!” signal by Jerry Ehman
- “Wow!” signal Wikipedia
- Perkins Observatory: http://perkins.owu.edu/
- Ohio History Connection page on the "Wow!" signal: The home of the original printout
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