Wow Signal

FUZZ

About WOW Signal August 15th, 1977: Earth received its first message from the depths of outer space. The Big Ear radio telescope at Ohio State University picked up a strong 72-second signal from the constellation Sagittarius, detected by astronomer Jerry R. Ehman. Circling the frequency code of the signal, 6EQUJ5, on the computer printout Ehman wrote, "WOW!" causing the alien message to become forever known as "The WOW! Signal." Two precise values by different astronomers were given for this mysterious frequency, 1420.4556Mhz & 1420.356Mhz. Hydrogen resonates at a frequency of 1420.40575177Mhz, which is near dead center of the two values. Since hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe, it was a meaningful number to researchers, as extraterrestrials might use this frequency to transmit a signal a long distance. Was intelligent life out there trying to communicate with us?