Ohio astronomer detected a strange 72-second signal from space and it’s never returned

Back in 1977, an Ohio astronomer discovered what became known as the Wow! signal: a mysterious 72-second signal from space that has never been heard again.

Picked up by the Big Ear radio telescope at Ohio State University, the sound was so strange and powerful that it immediately stood out from the usual cosmic noise.

On the data printout, the astonished researcher famously circled the reading and scribbled ‘Wow!’ in red pen, giving the anomaly its unforgettable name.

Nearly five decades later, scientists are still scratching their heads about what it was, and why it never returned.

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The note written by the Ohio Astronomer became space lore

The signal was incredibly powerful and came from the direction of the Sagittarius constellation.

Unlike background noise or regular radio chatter from Earth, this was a narrowband radio signal.

In case you’re not an expert in astronomy, this is exactly the kind of thing scientists had been hoping to detect in their search for extra-terrestrial intelligence.

For 72 glorious seconds, the telescope heard something that looked exactly like what we’d expect if someone – or something – out there was trying to get our attention.

Then it vanished, never to be repeated.

Jerry Ehman, the Ohio astronomer who discovered it, recalled his surprise at the time.

“It was so strong that I knew right away it wasn’t from our planet,” he later explained.

His handwritten ‘Wow!’ became a part of space lore, inspiring everything from documentaries to T-shirts.

Even today, the moment is seen as the closest we’ve ever come to intercepting an alien ‘hello.’

The Wow! signal mystery is yet to be solved

Of course, not everyone is ready to pin the mystery on little green beings.

Some scientists have suggested the 72-second signal from space may have come from a passing comet, a satellite, or even a reflected Earth transmission that happened to bounce in just the right way.

But every explanation so far has had holes, and none has fully accounted for the 72-second signal from space picked up that night.

The Wow! signal’s charm is that it lives right in that sweet spot between science and imagination.

It’s a reminder that the universe is noisy, unpredictable, and maybe full of neighbors we haven’t met yet.

Even with today’s advanced telescopes scanning the skies, nothing quite like it has ever been heard again.

So the mystery continues: was it a cosmic prank, a one-off natural event, or a call from across the stars?

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