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Astronomers Revisit the Mysterious Wow! Signal—and Find a Big Surprise [meh]
Gizmodo ^
| August 25, 2025
| Ellyn Lapointe Updated
Posted on 08/26/2025 1:51:28 PM PDT by BenLurkin
In recent years, researchers led by Abel Méndez—lead author of the new study and director of the Planetary Habitability Laboratory at the University of Puerto Rico—have contributed significantly to that evidence through the AWOW project. In August 2024, Méndez and his colleagues published findings that suggest the Wow! Signal stemmed from the sudden brightening of a cold hydrogen cloud due to a transient source of radiation such as a magnetar. These neutron stars have magnetic fields strong enough to excite the atoms in hydrogen clouds and elicit a burst of brightness.
Re-evaluating the Wow! Signal
Now, Méndez’s team has meticulously retrieved and analyzed decades of archival SETI data to re-evaluate the Wow! Signal’s properties and assess that hypothesis. Having access to modern data analysis tools and recent observations was a “game changer” for this study, Méndez told Gizmodo. Such advancements allowed his team to calculate more precise measurements for the Wow! Signal’s location of origin, intensity, and frequency. “In numbers, [these revisions] look small, but they are not small,” he said.
The researchers’ calculation for the signal’s intensity—or flux density—was four times greater than previous estimates, but the revised frequency was most surprising to Méndez. He and his colleagues found it to be 1420.726 MHz—much higher than they anticipated. The findings suggest the Wow! Signal came from a source within our galaxy, moving faster than scientists previously thought.
(Excerpt) Read more at gizmodo.com ...
TOPICS: Astronomy; Miscellaneous; Science; UFO's
KEYWORDS: 6equj5; astronomy; awowproject; fringe; noithadtobealiens; ohsomysteriouso; science; seti; ufo; ufos; wow; wowsignal
1
posted on
08/26/2025 1:51:28 PM PDT
by
BenLurkin
To: SunkenCiv
Thought it was a plane flying over, wasn’t it?
2
posted on
08/26/2025 1:52:12 PM PDT
by
BenLurkin
(The above is not a statement of fact. It is opinion or satire. Or both.)
To: BenLurkin
Don’t worry Jill Tartar will be along any second to discredit anyone who says the “WOW” signal is alien.....
Because it didn’t repeat.
Hey Jill, have you ever dialed a wrong number and then have hang up the phone? Did you dial the wrong number twice?
Didn’t think so.
3
posted on
08/26/2025 1:58:08 PM PDT
by
pacificus
To: BenLurkin
While re-evaluating the Wow signal several scientist have found evidence of what is referred to as the Dull signal, which seems to completely disprove the Wow phenomena.
4
posted on
08/26/2025 2:10:31 PM PDT
by
dragnet2
(Diversion and evasion are tools of deceit)
To: pacificus
If I dial a phone number and a “scientist” answers the phone I hang up immediately!
5
posted on
08/26/2025 2:21:04 PM PDT
by
cgbg
(It was not us. It was them--all along.)
To: BenLurkin
6
posted on
08/26/2025 2:22:06 PM PDT
by
dfwgator
(Endut! Hoch Hech!)
To: BenLurkin
Giant lizard people exchanging recipes???
7
posted on
08/26/2025 2:34:27 PM PDT
by
farmguy
( )
To: farmguy
Let’s take a look at the list of ingredients. Uhmmmm...
Flour, butter
Onion, celery, carrot
1/2 pound human thigh meat
What!
8
posted on
08/26/2025 2:37:15 PM PDT
by
BenLurkin
(The above is not a statement of fact. It is opinion or satire. Or both.)
"But I am not really willing to accept your premise, because it may well be that the means of communications they have are of a kind that we do not know how to receive, and that they would not have the means of communicating with sufficiently powerful radio or optical signals. That is something which, technologically, is too difficult for them but they would have some other means we would not recognize." -- Thomas J. Gold, 'Communication with Extraterrestial Intelligence' (Sagan, ed)
9
posted on
08/26/2025 2:38:05 PM PDT
by
SunkenCiv
(NeverTrumpin' -- it's not just for DNC shills anymore -- oh, wait, yeah it is.)
To: BenLurkin
Nope, not a plane. Probably a natural event.
The rest of the wowsignal keyword, sorted:
10
posted on
08/26/2025 2:40:30 PM PDT
by
SunkenCiv
(NeverTrumpin' -- it's not just for DNC shills anymore -- oh, wait, yeah it is.)
To: BenLurkin
When there is something in the natural universe in space they do not understand and it does not seem random, they assume IT CANNOT BE NATURAL.
Humans are in kindergarten when it comes to understanding the universe and space and would do well to remember that.
11
posted on
08/26/2025 3:03:06 PM PDT
by
Wuli
(uire)
The rest of the SETI/CETI keywords (minus Folding@Home topics), sorted:
- SETI breakthrough! NASA scientist discovers three repeating ET signals coming from nearby stars! [19:57] [06/24/2025]
- The Fermi Paradox [12/21/2024]
- 'Calling Occupants': How The Carpenters Met Klaatu, The Beatles That Weren't, In Outer Space [09/20/2024]
- UC Davis Professor Teams Up With SETI, Has 20-Minute 'Conversation' With Humpback Whale in the Wild [12/20/2023]
- Scientists claim they've had a 20 minute conversation with a WHALE - and say it could pave the way for conversations with aliens someday [12/18/2023]
- Mysterious never-before-seen deep space radio signal found beyond Milky Way [12/16/2023]
- UCLA wants your help searching for extraterrestrial life [02/14/2023]
- Double telescope study of zone where Wow! signal originated comes up empty [11/29/2022]
- Nasa Scientist Describes Hunt For Alien Megastructures "[it's] Essentially Any Artificial Structure Built By An Intelligent Civilization Perhaps For Energy Harvesting Purposes." [02/02/2022]
- It's Still Not Aliens: Mysterious Proxima Centauri Signal Turns Out To Be Just Us Again [10/25/2021]
- If Aliens Are Out There, We'll Meet Them in a Few Hundred Million Years [09/19/2021]
- 'Hycean' Worlds: A New Candidate for Biosignatures? [08/29/2021]
- The realization of curved relativistic mirrors to reflect high-power laser pulses [07/19/2021]
- New Technique to Search for Life, Whether or not it's Similar to Earth Life [06/06/2021]
- Robert Bigelow Opens up about AAWSAP, the Tic Tac incident, weird events on Skinwalker Ranch, the connection to consciousness [01/25/2021]
- Iconic radio telescope suffers catastrophic collapse [12/02/2020]
- Arecibo Observatory Collapses [12/01/2020]
- Amateur astronomer Alberto Caballero finds possible source of Wow! signal [11/25/2020]
- Facing collapse, the famed Arecibo Observatory will be demolished [11/19/2020]
- Astronomers find no signs of alien tech after scanning over 10 million stars [09/08/2020]
- The investigation into why a cable mysteriously broke on the Arecibo Observatory has begun [08/15/2020]
- Famed SETI Observatory Wrecked After Cable Breaks [08/12/2020]
- Scientists estimate the number of intelligent alien civilizations in the galaxy [06/15/2020]
- The new race to contact E.T. [05/21/2020]
- SETI@home is shutting down as they have analyzed all the data that they need. [03/31/2020] [03/05/2020]
- Astronomers want public funds for intelligent life search [02/15/2020]
- Space Alien Research Grad Program May Soon Be A Thing [12/02/2019]
- Why We'll Have Evidence of Aliens -- If They Exist -- By 2035 [11/08/2019]
- Search for aliens poses game theory dilemma (old but interesting piece) [10/05/2019]
- INCOMING Mystery object approaching us from interstellar space could be ALIEN spacecraft... [09/19/2019]
- No Signs of Aliens in the Closest 1,300 Stars, Hunt Funded by Russian Billionaire Reveals [06/19/2019]
- A Neutrino Beam Beacon [05/18/2019]
- Alien Hunters, Stop Using the Drake Equation [12/29/2018]
- SETI Astronomers Find No Evidence for Artificial Transmitters on Oumuamua [12/09/2018]
- Are the Laws of the Universe Fine-Tuned for Life? [11/15/2018]
- Researchers track 72 unusual radio bursts from outer space [09/15/2018]
- SETI project for a cheap signal detector [09/12/2018]
- Germany lacks plan in case of alien contact [08/19/2018]
- Alien Life, Seth Shostak and SETI [08/09/2018]
- I Don't Believe in Aliens Anymore [08/08/2018]
- New radio telescope picks up mysterious signal from space [08/02/2018]
- Are we truly alone in the cosmos? New study casts doubt on rise of alien life in our galaxy [07/16/2018]
- Scientific Paper: It's Likely We Are Alone In The Observable Universe [06/26/2018]
- We're probably not going to find anything by "listening" for extraterrestrials [03/17/2018]
- Interstellar Trade Is Possible [03/16/2018]
- If We Receive a Message From Aliens, Should We Delete it Without Reading it? [02/25/2018]
- Bitcoin Mining Hindering Search For Alien Life, Scientists Claim [02/20/2018]
- If We Receive a Message From Aliens, Should We Delete it Without Reading it? [02/13/2018]
- Leading Astronomers: Oumuamua Is 'Alien Probe With Broken Engines,' Could Have Hostile Intentions [12/14/2017]
- Etiology of Alien Derangement Syndrome [08/04/2017]
- There have probably been trillions of alien civilizations, and yet we may still never see one [06/27/2017]
- Alien Listening Project Picks Up 11 Unusual Signals [05/04/2017]
- Aliens may have existed in our solar system long before us [04/29/2017]
- Discovery of peculiar periodic spectral modulations in a small fraction of solar type stars [10/24/2016]
- Not a Drill: SETI Is Investigating a Possible Extraterrestrial Signal From Deep Space [08/29/2016]
- An Interesting SETI Candidate in Hercules [08/29/2016]
- World's largest radio telescope takes shape, to decode cosmic message [07/04/2016]
- Hunt for Intelligent Aliens Focuses on Faint Laser Flashes [06/23/2016]
- New study supports natural causes, not alien activity, explain mystery star's behavior [05/09/2016]
- China Spends Millions Searching for (Space) Aliens [03/10/2016]
- Exoplanet Census Suggests Earth Is Special after All [02/20/2016]
- NASA's Mars Rover Found Mysterious Growths On Mars That Could Be The Biggest Discovery In Science [02/05/2016]
- Scientists Debate Signatures of Alien Life [02/03/2016]
- The Fermi Paradox Is Not Fermi's, and It Is Not a Paradox [02/02/2016]
- A world leading scientist on the search for extraterrestrials pointed out a flaw in Stephen Hawking' [01/22/2016]
- A campaign promise: Hillary Clinton vows to investigate UFOs, Area 51 and alien visitors [01/04/2016]
- 'Alien Megastructure' Mystery May Soon Be Solved [10/28/2015]
- The Fermi Paradox [10/24/2015]
- SETI Institute undertakes search for alien signal from Kepler Star KIC 8462852 [10/24/2015]
- Did Astronomers Find Evidence of an Alien Civilization? Probably Not. But Still Cool. [10/15/2015]
- The strange star that has serious scientists talking about an alien megastructure [10/15/2015]
- 22 Articles:Commentaries:Hawking's Aliens.The Search for Intelligent ET Life [09/24/2015]
- What Was the WOW Signal? [09/21/2015]
- Breaking: Discovery of 'Habitable' Earth-Like Planet Announced [07/23/2015]
- Scientist warns world to 'think twice before replying to alien signals from outer space' [07/22/2015]
- Stephen Hawking announces $100 million hunt for alien life [07/20/2015]
- A $100 Million Infusion for SETI Research (two parts: Breakthrough Listen and Breakthrough MESSAGE) [07/20/2015]
- Search for extraterrestrial intelligence gets a $100-million boost [07/20/2015]
- Russian Entrepreneur Pledges $100 Million in Search for Extraterrestrial Life [07/20/2015]
- Astronomy Picture of the Day -- M46 Plus Two [04/17/2015]
- Astronomy Picture of the Day -- One-Armed Spiral Galaxy NGC 4725 [04/16/2015]
- NASA Scientist Believes We're on the Brink of Discovering Aliens [04/08/2015]
- Beyond "Fermi's Paradox" I: A Lunchtime Conversation- Enrico Fermi and Extraterrestrial Intelligence [04/07/2015]
- Is this ET? Mystery of strange radio bursts from space [04/01/2015]
- Are we alone? Do we want to know? [02/28/2015]
- Intelligent Aliens Could Be Found by 2040 [02/10/2014]
- Are We Searching for Aliens in the Wrong Place? [02/03/2014]
- The Bill Arrives for Cosmology's Free Lunch (NASA Should Be Islam's PR Firm) [01/20/2014]
- Silence in the sky -- but why? [08/26/2013]
- Cosmic 'lighthouses' could reveal alien life [08/21/2013]
- Disingenuous Transparency Versus Ingenious Opacity [07/13/2013]
- UK astronomers to co-ordinate their search for alien signals [07/06/2013]
- Where Are All the Aliens? [06/20/2013]
- SETI's Colossus (Huge 77-meter infrared telescope) [05/31/2013]
- The Best Way to Find Aliens: Look for Their Solar Power Plants [10/04/2012]
- Is SETI at risk of downloading a malicious virus from outer space? [07/11/2012]
- Possible alien message to get reply from humanity [06/26/2012]
- SETI Astronomer Jill Tarter Retiring After 35-Year Alien Hunt [05/23/2012]
- SETI Live: How You Can Help Find Alien Civilizations on Your PC [03/10/2012]
- First Look at Kepler SETI Candidate Signals [01/05/2012]
- Extraterrestrial Intelligence and the Search for God [11/08/2011]
- White House denies making contact with aliens - but says it hasn't given up hope [11/06/2011]
- SETI is back on the air (This time without your tax dollars) [08/14/2011]
- Evidence Found for Undiscovered Comet That May Threaten Earth [07/28/2011]
- 'Blue Stragglers' in the Galactic Bulge (a sign of ETI, as in SETI?) [05/30/2011]
- US astronomers launch search for alien life on 86 planets [05/14/2011]
- Alien search telescope is shelved. Funding for SETI Observatory cut to one tenth former level. [05/06/2011]
- SETI Institute suspends search for aliens [04/25/2011]
- An Anomalous SETI Signal [02/09/2011]
- 3 Very Large Objects In Space Flying To Earth [12/08/2010]
- SETI: The Red Giant Factor [10/04/2010]
- spotted 'mysterious pulse of light' from direction of newly-discovered '2nd Earth' two years ago [10/01/2010]
- SETI switching search to galactic Artificial Intelligence arrays could bring about end of humanity [09/21/2010]
- Poul Anderson's Answer to Fermi [08/30/2010]
- Do we dare let aliens know we're here? [08/18/2010]
- Search for Intelligent Aliens Takes Center Stage This Weekend at SETIcon [08/12/2010]
- Finding Frugal Aliens: Gregory Benford Proposes Twitter Approach [07/23/2010]
- Search for extraterrestrial life gains momentum around the world [12/22/2009]
- Man accused of hijacking school computers for UFO search [12/02/2009]
- Can Life Exist on Other Planets? [10/29/2009]
- Listening for SETI a Research Adventure [08/13/2009]
- Aliens Lose in Switch to Digital TV [06/18/2009]
- SETI Invites Alien Talk ("I see unseen cosmic entities") [05/25/2009]
- Life on other planets? You bet, says SETI pioneer [04/30/2009]
- New Earths: A Crossroads Moment [04/16/2009]
- Boldly Going Nowhere [04/14/2009]
- What scientific or technological advance would you most like to see in your lifetime? [03/23/2009]
- SETI and The Bishop of London [02/14/2009]
- Raise Money by Accomplishing Nothing (where do I sign up!) [11/24/2008]
- 'Aliens Cause Global Warming' [11/07/2008]
- Looking for ET's neutrino beam [05/22/2008]
- Why Don't They Do SETI? [05/08/2008]
- 'ET' Signal May Have Natural Cause [01/17/2008]
- 500-fold increase in space communications leads SETI@home to call for help [01/03/2008]
- ET Too Bored By Earth Transmissions To Respond [12/18/2007]
- UFO sightings are no laughing matter, group says [11/12/2007]
- SETI's Dilemma: Break the Great Silence? [10/15/2007]
- Inauguration Day for Alien Signal-Hunting Telescope [10/11/2007]
- Hope for the alien hunters [07/10/2007]
- Scientists call for wider search for alien life [07/08/2007]
- Futuristic telescope topic of talk [06/23/2007]
- The Astronaut Farmer: A Tough Row to Hoe [03/22/2007]
- Trying to Meet the Neighbors [03/13/2007]
- Exploration Starts at Home [02/25/2007]
- Empiricists, Theorists Clash in Search for Alien Life [02/06/2007]
- When Does SETI Throw in the Towel? [01/18/2007]
- Eavesdropping on the Universe [An improved method of searching for ET] [01/10/2007]
- New Radio Facility Could Detect Earth-like Civilizations Around 1,000 Nearest Stars [01/08/2007]
- Combing the Cosmos at High Speed: The Allen Telescope Array [10/18/2006]
- Rumor: SETI has (supposably) found a signal emanating from the center of the universe [10/16/2006]
- Time capsule to be beamed from Mexican pyramid [10/10/2006]
- Is Intelligent Design Theory Scientific? [10/01/2006]
- New study of Solar System speculates on life on other planets [09/13/2006]
- Sites under review for telescope that could detect alien TV [08/14/2006]
- Coast to Coast AM: Art Bell SETI has received alien signals, being jammed by NRO [07/30/2006]
- Is SETI Barking up the Wrong Tree? [07/21/2006]
- Is SETI Barking up the Wrong Tree? [07/20/2006]
- The economic alien [06/05/2006]
- Of Faith and Facts: Is SETI a Religion? [06/05/2006]
- Harvard telescope will search for extraterrestrial light signals [04/11/2006]
- Seventh planet has a blue ring [04/08/2006]
- How the search for ET turned into hard science [03/25/2006]
- Sharing the Allen Telescope Array [02/16/2006]
- NASA AMES CENTER DIRECTOR JOINS SETI INSTITUTE [01/24/2006]
- Is Anybody Out There? Detection Devices are in the Works for Rooting Out Extraterrestrial Life [01/24/2006]
- Transmitting to a Million Worlds [01/12/2006]
- SETI@Home Project Ends [12/17/2005]
- SETI and Intelligent Design [12/02/2005]
- SETI's Next Generation Telescope Array [12/01/2005]
- Education Nation: SETI Scientists Make the Rounds [11/17/2005]
- UW professors: Discovering life on other planets unlikely (Barf!) [11/15/2005]
- Public Split on Alien Invaders and Spooky Specters [11/03/2005]
- Allen Telescope Array Update [10/27/2005]
- SETI and the Cosmic Quarantine Hypothesis (Where is Everybody?) [10/19/2005]
- SETI politics [09/06/2005]
- Does life exist on other planets? [06/20/2005]
- Waiting for E.T. [06/15/2005]
- Most Americans Believe Alien Life is Possible, Study Shows [05/31/2005]
- Programming Note: National Geographic Channel Extraterrestial [05/30/2005]
- Finding Support in the Search for E.T. [05/30/2005]
- A-Bomb Inventor Philip Morrison Dies [04/27/2005]
- Look For Extraterrestrial Civilizations (Don't Just Listen) [04/15/2005]
- Look out for giant triangles in space [04/06/2005]
- Mystery Object Encountered By Russian Phobos Spacecraft [03/25/2005]
- List in Space: Calling the Cosmos Gets Commercial [03/23/2005]
- Search For ET To Look Again At 150 Signals [03/22/2005]
- ET Visitors: Scientists See High Likelihood [01/14/2005]
- Listening for ET [SETI, the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence] [01/05/2005]
- Refuting Fermi: No Evidence for Extraterrestrial Life? [01/02/2005]
- Aliens Cause Global Warming (MUST READ) [12/13/2004]
- Getting the intergalactic message across is easier said than done [11/27/2004]
- Live long and prosper elsewhere [Ohio fires, mocks employee for running SETI software] [10/10/2004]
- Man Fired For Using Computer To Search For Aliens [10/09/2004]
- SETI has not found ET: official [09/02/2004]
- Could space signal be alien contact? [09/02/2004]
- Mysterious signals from 1000 light years away (WHOA!) [09/02/2004]
- ET write home [09/01/2004]
- Is strange space signal a sign that ET's mother has called back? [09/01/2004]
- Mysterious signals from 1000 light years away [09/01/2004]
- Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence: Planning for a Long Search [08/18/2004]
- Paul Allen gives $13.5 million to search for space aliens [03/21/2004]
- Astronomy Picture of the Day 03-07-04 [03/06/2004]
- When UFOs Arrive [02/11/2004]
- 'Maybe We're All Martians' & The Cosmic Drama [01/09/2004]
- Extraterrestrial Contact Evidence & Implications [Chap 4 Excerpt] [12/06/2003]
- Why Dont We Just Go There? A Teachable Moment (We're not going anywhere but the moon anytime soon) [12/05/2003]
- Is there anybody out there? [Book review] [11/17/2003]
- The Physics of Extra-Terrestrial Civilizations [11/03/2003]
- The Search for Life Could Include Planets, Stars Unlike Our Own [08/02/2003]
- The Electric Universe - The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence [05/03/2003]
- Useful screen saver [03/29/2003]
- The Starship Builders (Speculation on UFO Propulsion methods by Physist) [03/14/2003]
- Search For ET To Look Again At 150 Signals [03/14/2003]
- First Major Search for the Existence of Other Intelligent Life in the Universe [02/12/2003]
- Interstellar Signal from the 70s Continues to Puzzle Researchers (WOW signal) [12/05/2002]
- Astronomy Picture of the Day 7-28-02 [07/28/2002]
- Astronomers Hope to Find E.T. in Next 25 Years [07/16/2002]
- Astronomers Hope to Find E.T. in Next 25 Years [07/16/2002]
- Home Alone In The Universe? [04/19/2002]
- What Happened to the SETI Site? [03/18/2002]
12
posted on
08/26/2025 3:21:55 PM PDT
by
SunkenCiv
(NeverTrumpin' -- it's not just for DNC shills anymore -- oh, wait, yeah it is.)
To: SunkenCiv
To: scrabblehack
Try to rein in your enthusiasm. ;^)
14
posted on
08/26/2025 4:22:35 PM PDT
by
SunkenCiv
(NeverTrumpin' -- it's not just for DNC shills anymore -- oh, wait, yeah it is.)
To: SunkenCiv
OK, you’re being silly.
Do the letters represent numbers? E = 14? It is rare to get a number greater than 5, and these ones were off the charts?
To: BenLurkin
The SETI project commenced around 1960 and hasn’t yielded anything in 65 years. Probes of the solar system however have discovered structures that are strongly suggestive of extraterrestrial intelligence. Not only strongly suggestive but nearby in our celestial backyard, so to speak.
As far as life elsewhere is concerned, Watson and Crick eventually concluded, because of DNA’s complexity and its information coding, that it came from ‘elsewhere.’
The panspermia theory was also advocated by the noted astronomer Hoyle.
16
posted on
08/26/2025 4:41:56 PM PDT
by
KamperKen
(u)
To: scrabblehack
17
posted on
08/26/2025 5:04:39 PM PDT
by
SunkenCiv
(NeverTrumpin' -- it's not just for DNC shills anymore -- oh, wait, yeah it is.)
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