For years, it was thought that this intense signal was caused by extraterrestrial life. However, a recent study by Puerto Rican researchers suggests that a natural phenomenon may have been responsible.
On August 15, 1977, a strange event occurred that marked the scientific community . That night, the radio telescope Big ear of the Ohio State University which was used as part of the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence program (SETI ) of the university, managed to pick up a powerful radio signal of unknown origin.
The signal disappeared as quickly as it had appeared: it lasted only 72 seconds. It was not recorded, but was recorded by the observatory’s computer on a section of continuous paper.
A few days later, the astronomer Jerry R. Ehman who was working as a volunteer for the SETI program, was examining data on the computer when he suddenly encountered the most intense signal a radio telescope had ever detected.
He was officially appointed Wow! because of the quick note Ehman wrote in the margin of the printed copy of the panel.
Since then, the phenomenon has excited scientists, but it has also opened the way to multiple theories. Some researchers have claimed that it was man-made radio interference, while others believe it came from astronomical phenomena.
There are also those who dare to believe that it is a message emitted by an extraterrestrial intelligence, due to its high intensity and its bandwidth close to the hydrogen line of 1420 MHz.
Now, a recent study led by researchers from Puerto Rico has shown another hypothesis that explains what could have caused this mysterious signal that has kept science in suspense for decades. The research is still undergoing peer review, but is now available on the website arXiv .
What caused the Wow signal!
Abel Mendez director of Planetary Habitability Laboratory of the University of Puerto Rico and lead author of the recent study, has been dedicated for years to studying in depth the habitability of the universe. As explained to the media Gizmodo During his career, he had not paid much attention to the Wow! signal, because like other astronomers, he thought it was “a fraud.”
But this year, when he came across a video of the mysterious signal, everything changed: his attention was drawn to its low bandwidth and the fact that it was only 72 seconds long. From there, he thought it would be interesting to discover a plausible explanation for the source of the signal.
Research by Méndez now suggests that the Wow! signal may have been caused by a curious event: the glow of a cold hydrogen cloud, due to stimulated emission from a strong transient radiation source. This is a completely natural phenomenon, which is why the authors doubt that the signal was caused by an extraterrestrial civilization.
To reach this discovery, the team of scientists dedicated themselves to the analysis of data from various celestial objects at frequencies from 1 to 10 GHz, which had been captured between 2017 and 2020 by the old telescope. Arecibo Observatory which is no longer operational. Then, in 2023, they continued to make observations with another telescope, this time focusing on a type of star called “red dwarfs.”
Near one of these stars, called Teegarden Star, they discovered four interesting recordings, according to Scientific alert . Although the signals were somewhat weaker than those recorded in the Wow! signal, their similarity was sufficient to find the clues needed for the investigation.
According to analyses by researchers from Puerto Rico, Signals identified near Teegarden Star may be related to interstellar clouds of cold hydrogen.
The latter gives clues as to what would have generated the famous signal identified in 1977. It is a transient source of radiation, such as a magnetar flare or a soft gamma-ray repeater (SGR), which caused an intensified emission at the origin of the cold cloud. hydrogen will glow transiently.
The result is a phenomenon known as a maser, which is a microwave laser that emerges into space and emits a powerful concentration of narrowband light in the hydrogen line.
“Our latest observations, carried out between February and May 2020, revealed similar narrowband signals near the hydrogen line, although less intense than the Wow! signal. Méndez explained in a statement.
The study by Méndez and colleagues explores the characteristics of the Wow signal, but also explains why a phenomenon of the same magnitude has not been found.
Transient radiation sources are very rare events that require very specific conditions and alignments. “where these clouds can become much brighter for a few seconds or minutes,” and there is a high probability that the clouds will not be detectable by a radio telescope.
“Our hypothesis explains all the observed properties of the Wow! signal, proposes a new source of false positives in technosignature searches, and suggests that the Wow! signal “This could be the first recorded event of an astronomical maser eruption in the hydrogen pathway,” they add.
While the theory suggested by the University of Puerto Rico researchers may not be well received by those who are linked to Wow! an extraterrestrial civilization, the authors point out that it could help redefine the understanding of these signals and how future searches for life outside of Earth should be guided.
Source: Latercera
I’m Rose Brown , a journalist and writer with over 10 years of experience in the news industry. I specialize in covering tennis-related news for Athletistic, a leading sports media website. My writing is highly regarded for its quick turnaround and accuracy, as well as my ability to tell compelling stories about the sport.
