Scientists think they have found the source of the most promising ‘alien’ signal ever seen

Sign up to our free weekly IndyTech newsletter delivered straight to your inbox

Sign up to our free IndyTech newsletter

Please enter a valid email address

Please enter a valid email address

SIGN UP

I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy

Scientists think they might have found an explanation for the “wow” signal that has long led to hopes it was contact from aliens.

In August, 1977, the Big Ear radio telescope at Ohio State University picked up a signal that has fascinated scientists ever since. The scientists who first spotted it wrote “Wow!” next to the signal on a printout, and it has been known by that name ever since.

The blast was long and very intense, but only at a specific frequency. The details of the source led many to believe that it could be an intentional signal from aliens, sent using artificial technology.

Scientists found that it appeared to have come from the constellation Sagittarius, but not exactly where. It was never spotted again, leaving scientists only to speculate on whether it was a signal from an extraterrestrial intelligence.

Now, however, researchers at the University of Puerto Rico say they have found a new explanation for the signal. It was not an alien message but instead a unique astrophysical event, they say.

What’s more, they have detected similar signals – though none as intense as that first one that led to the “wow” signal.

The researchers suggest that the signal was caused when a cold hydrogen cloud suddenly turned bright. That was probably because it was hit by emissions from. radiation source, such as a magnetar flare ofr a soft gamma repeater.

When that happened, the clouds suddenly turned bright. That would explain why it was seen for a short period and then never spotted again.

The researchers say that the new hypothesis not only explains the signal but represents an important warning for future potential detections of signs from aliens.

“Our study suggests that the Wow! Signal was likely the first recorded instance of maser-like emission of the hydrogen line,” said Abel Méndez, who led the work.

Scientists might now be able the find the exact origin of the signal, too, since they can look for objects within or behind those cold hydrogen clouds.

The research is based on observations from 2020 and has been published in an early version online. The scientists behind it are refining it with input from the scientific community and hope to publish it in a peer-reviewed journal, they said.