12/22/2023 0 Comments A radio signal from space in 1977![]() ![]() They sought to program the telescope to look for specific signs of extraterrestrial life. It was more of a volunteer effort from radio astronomers with a passion for the subject. Wow!įrom 1965 to the 1970s, the observatory worked on the SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) project, among others. The radio signals would strike the flat reflector, travel across the aluminum field toward the curved reflector, bounce off it, and go into the feed horns for scientists to process. The telescope was stationary and depended on the earth’s rotation to search for signals. In the middle of the aluminum field lay two funnel-shaped “feed horns.” One reflector was curved while the other was flat but could tilt up or down. It consisted of a 152m by 109m aluminum flat area with two reflectors at each end. A real labor of love, it was completed in 1961 by inventor John Kraus, along with volunteers and university students. One well-known radio telescope was Big Ear, the nickname for the Ohio State University Radio Observatory. The Wow BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.Radio telescopes. PC users all over the world will have access to software that will look for alien signals in segments of data downloaded from the world's largest radio telescopes.īack to top | BBC News Home | BBC Homepage | © It is called and it will use a modified screen saver. Next month, a new initiative to search for ET is launched. ![]() However, if after a few more years of searching, the cosmic silence is held, it will be an indication that intelligent life may be frustratingly rare in the cosmos.Įither that or the aliens are not transmitting. Again, nothing important has shown up so far.īut with the rapid advances in electronics and signal processing techniques, the searchers of the skies are able to double their sensitivity to signals every 200 days or so.īecause of this, many of them believe that if a detection is going to be made, it will be made soon. When Jerry Ehman, the duty astronomer saw it come off the printer he scribbled "wow" next to the readout - since then it has become known as the Wow signal.Īs well as the searches organised by the SetiLeague, professional astronomers are using the world's largest radio telescope to try to pick up a signal from the cosmic static. Perhaps the most impressive was detected in 1977 by the so-called 'Big Ear' radio telescope at Ohio State University. That is not to say no suspicious signals have been picked up - just that none of them have passed the stringent criteria to be considered as being from an intelligent alien source.Īstronomers have many strange signals in their files that they cannot explain, but none of them are persuasive. There is also some merit in the argument that flashes of laser light may be the best way to signal between the Earth and the very closest stars to us.īut it is with radio telescopes that the main searches have been undertaken. Most astronomers believe that the best way to send a message in-between the stars is to transmit a radio wave. Although it is very unlikely, it is not impossible, that this signal is an alien beacon from space. It shows just how difficult is Seti, the Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence. It has never been positively identified.Īstronomers use large radio telescopes to listen for ET But as there are so many satellites up there, no one knows for sure what caused this strange signal. In reality, this signal is almost certainly from a man-made satellite orbiting the Earth. The amateur is a member of the SetiLeague, a world-wide grouping of over a thousand alien hunters that operates a network of radio telescopes. It was detected by an amateur space watcher using a small radio dish and PC-based equipment to analyse the signals. This radio signal has been shifted in frequency to bring it into the audio range. What is it? Is it a radio signal that has been travelling through space at the speed of light for years? Has it been beamed towards Earth to make first contact with us? Wednesday, MaPublished at 06:44 GMT 07:44 UKīy BBC News Online Science Editor Dr David Whitehouse ![]()
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