In 1977, astronomer Jerry R. Ehman discovered a strong signal from space that lasted over a minute, detected by the Ohio State Radio Telescope. Dubbed the “WOW!” signal, it likely had an intelligent origin. The SETI Institute continues to collect data from its point of origin. World leaders and many Americans have reported UFO sightings.
If you think missing an important phone call is frustrating, imagine how astronomer Jerry R. Ehman felt in 1977 when he looked at the telescope data from the day before and discovered a strong signal from space that had lasted for over a minute. The signal was detected by the Ohio State Radio Telescope, a huge mechanism known as the “Big Ear” that tracked the signals from the skies every day. This particularly strong narrowband radio signal, which rose and fell as one would expect if sent from a single source, was so shocking that Ehman wrote, “WOW!” with red ink next to the print. Efforts to re-detect the signal failed, but Robert Dixon, director of the Ohio State Radio Observatory at the time, said it almost certainly had an “intelligent origin” and wasn’t just some type of cosmic interference. While some attempts have been made to explain the signal through other causes, such as the emission of comets, the SETI Institute (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) continues to collect data from the point of origin of the so-called WOW! signal, hoping to get in touch with it again.
Keeping an eye on the skies:
World leaders Ronald Reagan, Jimmy Carter and Winston Churchill have all claimed to have seen unidentified flying objects.
More than 40,000 Americans have insurance to protect them in the event of an alien abduction.
The first notable UFO report occurred in 1947, when a businessman said he saw nine objects flying at thousands of miles per hour near Mount Rainier in Washington.
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