The Wow! Signal
Journey through radioastronomy’s most tantalizing mystery as we examine the 72-second signal that made even hardened scientists write “Wow!” in the margins. Learn why 1420.4056 MHz represents more than just another wrong number, while discovering how the intersection of hydrogen line frequencies and narrowband transmissions points toward either the universe’s most impressive cold call or humanity’s most notable missed connection.
Warning: Side effects may include developing strong opinions about signal processing, questioning every unusual phone call, and a sudden interest in monitoring the hydrogen line frequency.
The Science of the Wow! Signal
The Wow! Signal’s unique characteristics make it stand out from typical astronomical observations. The signal’s 1420.4056 MHz frequency precisely matches hydrogen’s emission spectrum, suggesting an origin aware of this universal constant. Its extremely narrow bandwidth of less than 10 kHz indicates an artificial rather than natural source, as cosmic phenomena typically broadcast across wider frequency ranges. The 72-second duration perfectly matched the Big Ear telescope’s observation window, while its intensity - thirty times stronger than background noise - made it unmistakably distinctive.
The signal’s characteristics continue to challenge natural explanations. The 2017 comet hypothesis, proposing that comets 266P/Christensen and 335P/Gibbs might be responsible, fails to account for both the signal’s narrow bandwidth and its precise frequency alignment. Unlike the broadband emissions typical of natural phenomena, the Wow! Signal demonstrated a level of precision more commonly associated with artificial transmitters.
Science Note: The signal’s appearance in only one of Big Ear’s feed horns suggests a source fixed relative to the background stars, ruling out local interference which would typically appear in both horns.
Further Reading
- “A Receptionist’s Guide to Interstellar Communications”
- “Listen to Entropy Rising”
- “Narrowband Signals in Radioastronomy: Natural vs Artificial Sources”
Remember: In the multiverse of cosmic communications, every signal exists in a superposition of significance and static until someone checks the voicemail.