Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Amateur astronomer Alberto Caballero finds possible source of Wow! signal
https://phys.org ^ | November 24, 2020 | by Bob Yirka , Phys.org

Posted on 11/25/2020 5:18:25 AM PST by Red Badger

The Wow! signal represented as "6EQUJ5". Credit: Big Ear Radio Observatory and North American AstroPhysical Observatory (NAAPO)

======================================================================

Amateur astronomer and YouTuber Alberto Caballero, one of the founders of The Exoplanets Channel, has found a small amount of evidence for a source of the notorious Wow! signal. In his paper uploaded to the arXiv preprint server, Caballero describes searching the Gaia database for possible sun-like stars that might host an exoplanet capable of supporting intelligent life.

Back in 1977, astronomers working with the Big Ear Radio Telescope—at the time, situated in Delaware, Ohio—recorded a unique signal from somewhere in space. It was so strong and unusual that one of the workers on the team, Jerry Ehman, famously scrawled the word Wow! on the printout. Despite years of work and many man hours, no one has ever been able to trace the source of the signal or explain the strong, unique signal, which lasted for all of 72 seconds. Since that time, many people have suggested the only explanation for such a strong and unique signal is extraterrestrial intelligent life.

In this new effort, Caballero reasoned that if the source was some other life form, it would likely be living on an exoplanet—and if that were the case, it would stand to reason that such a life form might be living on a planet similar to Earth—one circling its own sun-like star. Pursuing this logic, Caballero began searching the publicly available Gaia database for just such a star. The Gaia database has been assembled by a team working at the Gaia observatory run by the European Space Agency. Launched back in 2013, the project has worked steadily on assembling the best map of the night sky ever created. To date, the team has mapped approximately 1.3 billion stars.

In studying his search results, Caballero found what appears to fit the bill—a star (2MASS 19281982-2640123) that is very nearly a mirror image of the sun—and is located in the part of the sky where the Wow! signal originated. He notes that there are other possible candidates in the area but suggests his candidate might provide the best launching point for a new research effort by astronomers who have the tools to look for exoplanets.

More information: An approximation to determine the source of the WOW! Signal, arXiv:2011.06090 [physics.pop-ph] arxiv.org/abs/2011.06090


TOPICS: Astronomy; History; Science; UFO's
KEYWORDS: 2mass192819822640123; albertocaballero; astronomy; bigear; caballero; jerryehman; science; ufo; ufos; wow; wowsignal; xplanets
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-4041-60 next last

1 posted on 11/25/2020 5:18:25 AM PST by Red Badger
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: SunkenCiv

XO Planet Ping!....................


2 posted on 11/25/2020 5:18:56 AM PST by Red Badger (Democrats cheat. ... It's what they do. ... GUARANTEED! ... Even if it's not necessary!....)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Red Badger; SunkenCiv
Very cool. I've followed this for years.

I'm not a fan of vanity license plates, but I'd consider 6EQUJ5 to be my vanity.

3 posted on 11/25/2020 5:29:51 AM PST by DoodleBob (Gravity's waiting period is about 9.8 m/s^2)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: Red Badger

Intelligent life? How refreshing, not much of that here in the blue part of Ohio.


4 posted on 11/25/2020 5:33:12 AM PST by brownsfan (Behold, the power of government cheese.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: DoodleBob

6EQUJ5? Whatever planet that is from, they sure have weird call signs.


5 posted on 11/25/2020 5:34:19 AM PST by Wilhelm Tell (True or False? This is not a tag line.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: Red Badger

Probably a window pane somewhere had broken and a shade pull cord had wrapped around a partially empty Coca-Cola bottle which bumped into a telegraph key when the ocean breeze blew through the window, generating the gibberish signals. ... Neville Schute


6 posted on 11/25/2020 5:34:41 AM PST by KingLudd
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: Red Badger

I bet it is Mr. Mxyzptlk from the 5th dimension - he was always such a trickster.


7 posted on 11/25/2020 5:39:44 AM PST by enumerated
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Wilhelm Tell

That code is a 1970s way of displaying the strength of a signal over time, effectively as a number of standard deviation from the baseline.

Clinically,

the signal intensity was measured as signal-to-noise ratio, with the noise (or baseline) averaged over the previous few minutes. The signal was sampled for 10 seconds and then processed by the computer, which took 2 seconds. Therefore, every 12 seconds the result for each frequency channel was output on the printout as a single character, representing the 10-second average intensity, minus the baseline, expressed as a dimensionless multiple of the signal's standard deviation.

In the chosen alphanumeric measuring system, a space character denotes an intensity between 0 and 1, that is between baseline and one standard deviation above it. The numbers 1 to 9 denote the correspondingly numbered intensities (from 1 to 9); intensities of 10 and above are indicated by a letter: "A" corresponds to intensities between 10 and 11, "B" to 11 to 12, and so on. The Wow! signal's highest measured value was "U" (an intensity between 30 and 31), that is thirty standard deviations above background noise.

8 posted on 11/25/2020 5:43:25 AM PST by DoodleBob (Gravity's waiting period is about 9.8 m/s^2)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: enumerated
.....Which one is he?....................
9 posted on 11/25/2020 5:47:00 AM PST by Red Badger (Democrats cheat. ... It's what they do. ... GUARANTEED! ... Even if it's not necessary!....)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies]

To: DoodleBob

WOW


10 posted on 11/25/2020 5:49:25 AM PST by smartymarty (How a mountain girl can love.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: Red Badger

For Gods sake don’t send a signal!
We don’t have any working battleships. ...


11 posted on 11/25/2020 5:49:47 AM PST by Daniel Ramsey
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Red Badger

Great! If we contact them, likely mere illegal aliens heading this way!
Probably vote democrat


12 posted on 11/25/2020 5:54:32 AM PST by magyars4 (To sin by silence when they should protest makes cowards of men!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Red Badger

Haha


13 posted on 11/25/2020 5:54:58 AM PST by enumerated
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 9 | View Replies]

To: magyars4

Lol


14 posted on 11/25/2020 5:58:26 AM PST by dp0622 (Tried a coup, a fake tax story, tramp slander, Russia nonsense, impeachment and a virus. They lost.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 12 | View Replies]

To: Daniel Ramsey
For Gods sake don’t send a signal!
We don’t have any working battleships. ...

Probalby the Formics

15 posted on 11/25/2020 5:58:56 AM PST by COBOL2Java (Joe Biden: Barack Obama minus the pretty talk.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 11 | View Replies]

To: Wilhelm Tell

6EQUJ5? Whatever planet that is from, they sure have weird call signs.

~~~

Wait, doesn’t that say Beatle Juice in leet-speak?

6=b
5=s

BEQUJS


16 posted on 11/25/2020 6:02:08 AM PST by z3n
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: Red Badger
"Caballero found what appears to fit the bill—a star (2MASS 19281982-2640123) that is very nearly a mirror image of the sun—and is located in the part of the sky where the Wow! signal originated. He notes that there are other possible candidates in the area"

Somehow, I'm not impressed. There are untold billions of exoplanets we have NOT found. 2MASS 19281982-2640123 is simply one of "other possible candidates in the area" of those we HAVE seen. There are undoubtedly numerous more that we HAVEN'T seen. Simply naming one "in the area" is hardly proof that the source of the signal is intelligent life.

17 posted on 11/25/2020 6:03:11 AM PST by norwaypinesavage (Calm down and enjoy the ride, great things are happening for our country)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: KingLudd

As one who watched “On The Beach” only once, well over a half century ago as a teenager, but still occasion hums “Waltzing Matilda” while I walk, I know of what you speak. How many others here, do you think, also know?


18 posted on 11/25/2020 6:10:12 AM PST by norwaypinesavage (Calm down and enjoy the ride, great things are happening for our country)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: norwaypinesavage

One of my favorite books and movie.


19 posted on 11/25/2020 6:18:53 AM PST by Robe (A nation can survive its fools and even n the ambitious. But it cannot survive treason from within.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 18 | View Replies]

To: Red Badger
I decoded it:

D-R-I-N-K Y-O-U-R O-V-A-L-T-I-N-E

20 posted on 11/25/2020 6:19:52 AM PST by SIDENET (ISAIAH 5:20)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-4041-60 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson