The Wow! Signal After 45 Years

The Wow! Signal was a radio signal detected in 1977 that remains the most compelling candidate for an alien radio transmission ever received. 45 years later, and after dozens of failed hours spent trying to catch it again, can we conclude the Wow signal was bogus? Join us today as we discuss a new research paper from the Cool Worlds Lab that explores this question and everything Wow.
Written & presented by Prof David Kipping
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::References::
► Kipping, D. & Gray, R. (2022), "Could the “Wow” signal have originated from a stochastic repeating beacon?", MNRAS, accepted for publication: arxiv.org/abs/2206.08374
► "The Elusive Wow" book by Robert Gray: www.amazon.com/Elusive-Wow-Searching-Extraterrestrial-Intelligence/dp/0983958440/ref=sr_1_1?crid=N9C88NODCZ6G&keywords=the+elusive+wow&qid=1655582974&sprefix=the+elusive+wow%2Caps%2C88&sr=8-1
► Gray R. H., 1994, Icar, 112, 485. doi:10.1006/icar.1994.1199
► Gray R. H., Marvel K. B., 2001, ApJ, 546, 1171 doi:10.1086/318272
► Gray R. H., Ellingsen S., 2002, ApJ, 578, 967. doi:10.1086/342646
► Harp G. R., Gray R. H., Richards J., Shostak G. S., Tarter J. C.,
2020, AJ, 160, 162. doi:10.3847/1538-3881/aba58f
::Music::
Music licensed by SoundStripe.com (SS) [shorturl.at/ptBHI], or via Creative Commons (CC) Attribution License (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), or with permission from the artist
► Brad Hill - A Slowly Lifting Fog (0:00) [open.spotify.com/album/0i7df7bwsTHcJ7zRCHqq1G]
► Chris Zabriskie - Cylinder Four (2:38)
► Falls - Ripley (4:41)
► Falls - Life in Binary (8:34)
► Brad Hill - There Is but One Good (13:04) [open.spotify.com/album/4pmiXcyRpPlFjWjb45pYLx0]
► Chris Zabriskie - Stories About the World That Once Was (19:31)
► Joachim Heinrich - Y (23:51)
► Brad Hill - Downcast Spirit (26:12) [open.spotify.com/album/2oDAnUfX0OYYOnuIToAEcX]
::Film/TV clips used::
► Wow Documentary (2017) Peacock
► Agora (2009) Focus Features International
► Contact (1997) Warner Bros.
► Independence Day (1996) 20th Century Fox
::Chapters::
00:00 Introduction
02:51 Four Facts
07:15 False Positives?
08:15 Four Unknowns
12:06 Black Swans
13:54 Observatory Emulation
16:01 Hypothetical Signals
18:51 Big Ear Results
19:52 Multi-Observatory Results
22:43 Wow's Properties
24:49 Robert Gray
26:12 Outro and credits
#WowSignal #AreWeAlone #CoolWorlds

[@SkipMDMan]

I love how we say it can only be an alien signal if it repeats but our own signal we sent out was done once. That's all. So anyone who received our artificially generated signal and sat there waiting for it to repeat is going to be as disappointed as we are with the WOW signal. Perhaps once is all any civilization sends out a message.

[@xBINARYGODx]

if the wow signal is alien in nature, of some kind, it would really have to be pointed right at us - the thing we sent out was not pointed at any specific planet or even star system. (edit, its is highly unlikely anything will ever properly get what we sent out, it was not powerful enough and it will too spread out before it gets to where it was pointed)

[@LDrosophila]

Talk about existential seems here on earth that holds true once may be all there is time for civilizations to announce they are/were here

[@WCM1945]

@@LDrosophila And that's probably all it could amount to in the foreseeable future. The time delays are generations long at the very shortest distances.

[@solsystem1342]

We're looking for a dedicated first contact transition. Like a laser array that flashes the first 1000 prime numbers in binary (or probably something better thought out). Sending one pulse could just as easily be a interference or equipment error and therefore is an unlikely strategy for any intelligent life to employ. Our METI efforts thus far have largely been stunts. No one actually expects someone to detect our signals that would have missed the obvious biosignatures in our planet's atmosphere. With JWST we would be able to see ourselves from further away then our signal has "reached" (even though it's fainter then you could reasonably expect anyone to pick up on).

[@TheMsLourdes]

@@xBINARYGODx true but if a message is beamed point to point to candidate stars in a pattern, it would take far less power and it could be done. Hell if we were able to hear the wow signal just two more times, we could even figure out how many planets were being targeted by the sender, because if the signal durtion was 72 seconds and reorient transmit, we could get a ballpark estimate of how many planets that signal is trying to reach out to, and that would be amazing. All said and done, it's a trippy subject and these things could be done. However as another commenter pointed out, this all depends on a sender that is rotating the message locations and continuously sending. We as humans have only ever point broadcast once. and its entirely possible the sender did the same. What this really means is, for any realistic chance of picking up the signal again, we'd have to poitn to at least one civilization that was doing it consistently... ie us. So I think the rational argument is that we file away the wow until we start broadcasting point to point to at least a collection of systems.. because we'll be able to realistic say.. well, we did it... so...

[@mikesmith1290]

77 was an awesome year. We had the Voyager launches, Starwars, and the WOW signal!

[@emzywillrich7243]

I sung a solo in 1977 of the Bee Gees song, How Deep Is Your Love! 1977 was a good year!!

[@fractiousfauxpas1368]

@@emzywillrich7243 I love this comment :')

[@bestonyoutube]

There is the answer. Too much of a coincidence. Obviously it was a joke by someone because of the Star Wars movie, the signal was human made.

[@ridetillidie8090]

So, 2 out of three great events? #SWsucks

[@willo1358]

also the year of the biggest earthquake ever in my country (one of the worst earthquake disasters of the 1970's around the world)

[@budbud13411]

It’s crazy to think the WOW! signal is still out there, traveling through space, now 46 light years away from us. It blows my mind to think about where it is from and how it came to us. And what are the odds that the telescope caught it when it did… wild.

[@tylerk3616]

Could be a million light years until another civilization picks it up, and even then it could be many millions of years before that when it was originally sent.

[@Dementjevsky]

​re❤❤❤👍🤦🤣🥰😢

[@Dementjevsky]

​t CEC de r😂y erredescecc xceewc DD😊s😅 0:50 eedrde?

[@stargazer7644]

@@tylerk3616It won't happen. Every time it doubles the distance it has gone, the signal gets 4 times weaker. Every time it goes 10 times farther, it gets 100 times weaker. Eventually the signal will become weaker than the background noise of the universe, and will be lost forever. Based on how strong it was when we heard it, it can only go about 5 times farther before it is lost in the noise. It is quite possibly already gone.

[@davidschaftenaar6530]

Not if it came from very far away. 😉 Q

[@jademoon7938]

We can't say the WOW signal didn't repeat. It could've repeated ten times. The array that captured it was flat and scanned the sky using the rotation of the earth. So they had to wait a full 24 hours just to get back to that general region of space. We'll never know. It very well could've kept going or been going for some time before it was detected.

[@timoteubert7068]

Weren't there other observatories which didn't pick it up?

[@jademoon7938]

@@timoteubert7068 As far as I know, no other telescopes were on that patch of space but the Big Ear, though I believe they asked other telescopes to focus on it once the Big Ear wasn't facing that direction anymore, and they didn't capture anything. They have looked in that direction since and haven't captured it again. So, my point was, we don't know how long that signal could've been repeating before it was detected. We can't say it didn't repeat or that it wasn't longer. Earth's telescopes only caught the 70 seconds or whatever it was.

[@stargazer7644]

We know the signal stopped because the second receiver didn't hear it when it swept the same location in space 3 minutes later - the signal was gone and was never heard again despite lots of looking.

[@arostwocents]

Great point elf girl. I have seen a few black eyed people on here and now an elf. Lol KZbin is crazy, all kinds of supernatural people post here 😮

[@arostwocents]

​@@stargazer7644It could have repeated before it was originally detected - it may have been sent once or twice shortly before the final time when it was detected

[@johndef5075]

The deep field pictures get me. Staring at all those galaxies we could be looking at millions of civilizations. And the fact that our observable universe is a miniscule fraction of whats supposedly out there gives me chills.

[@_apsis]

millions of likely now long-dead civilizations, too

[@doob195]

I would bet everything I have that there are aliens. Maybe even one thinking exactly what I'm thinking right now, up too late on their alien phone.

[@thingonathinginathing]

NASA is complicit in the UAP cover-up, and they've stagnated the field of Astrobiology.❤

[@_apsis]

@@thingonathinginathing why would NASA attempt to cover that up though?

[@thingonathinginathing]

@_apsis I don't know, perhaps it is because of the massive implications or their own invested interests. But they are complicit in the cover-up.

[@vadim2080]

Little known fact: radio astronomer Jerry R. Ehman was looking at the printout upside down when he noticed the signal data. He then wrote ¡MOM, wanting to show his findings to his mother later. The rest, as they say, is history. Joking aside, this was a fascinating topic that hopefully continues receiving attention from the scientific community.

[@nickscurvy8635]

I wonder if his mother was very proud

[@lnhp5592]

​@@nickscurvy8635 After all this time, it turns out it was actually the work of Tommy Tallarico, the inventor of Alien Signals.

[@nickscurvy8635]

@@lnhp5592 he was the first terrestrial to work on extraterrestrial signals.

[@nickscurvy8635]

@@lnhp5592 tommy actually holds a guiness universe record for the most extraterrestrial signals worked on.

[@thingonathinginathing]

NASA is complicit in the UAP cover-up, and they've stagnated the field of Astrobiology.❤❤❤

[@AngeloMartz]

Rest in peace Robert Gray. I hope one day we find out what the “wow” signal was. We owe this one to Robert!

[@amelliamendel2227]

Don't tell anyone, but it was a gravitational microlensing event, basically a massive cosmic object, star, black hole, or otherwise, passed between Earth and a distant radio source (galaxy, quasar, white hole, ect.), temporarily aligning in such a way that the object's gravitational field acted as a lens. This lensing effect magnified and focused the radio waves from the distant source, resulting in a brief, intense burst of radio waves that was detected by the Big Ear telescope. The transient and singular nature of this event aligns well with the characteristics of gravitational microlensing, where the unique alignment of the observer, lens, and source amplifies the signal in a temporary and unrepeatable way, but also debris and interference can make the detection appear narrow field.

[@WheresPoochie]

@@amelliamendel2227 That’s fascinating. Where can a moron like me learn more about this?

[@amelliamendel2227]

@@WheresPoochie I guess if you were actually interested in the underlying principles of gravitational microlensing search for a paper titled "Microlensing mass measurement from images of rotating gravitational arcs" it's got the basic principles of gravitational microlensing and it's use for measuring the mass of isolated, really faint, or non-luminous objects in the galaxy. If you're seriously asking about microlensing and it's effects on distant radio sources, The Cosmic Lens All Sky Survey (CLASS) in New Mexico, has made some discoveries you could look into and if you're just interested in the radio frequency aspects then "Astrophysical Applications of Gravitational Microlensing", is a collection of open source papers and if you look through the references you'll find one that's a thesis and that's the one you want, but I can't remember his name, sorry.

[@amelliamendel2227]

@@WheresPoochie I guess if you were actually interested in the underlying principles of gravitational microlensing search for a paper titled "Microlensing mass measurement from images of rotating gravitational arcs" it's got the basic principles of gravitational microlensing and it's use for measuring the mass of isolated, really faint, or non-luminous objects in the galaxy. If you're seriously asking about microlensing and it's effects on distant radio sources, The Cosmic Lens All Sky Survey (CLASS) in New Mexico, has made some discoveries you could look into and if you're just interested in the radio frequency aspects then "Astrophysical Applications of Gravitational Microlensing", is a collection of open source papers and if you look through the references you'll find one that's a thesis and that's the one you want, but I can't remember his name, sorry.

[@amelliamendel2227]

@@WheresPoochie I guess if you were actually interested in the underlying principles of gravitational microlensing search for a paper titled "Microlensing mass measurement from images of rotating gravitational arcs" it's got the basic principles of gravitational microlensing and it's use for measuring the mass of isolated, really faint, or non-luminous objects in the galaxy. If you're seriously asking about microlensing and it's effects on distant radio sources, The Cosmic Lens All Sky Survey (CLASS) in New Mexico, has made some discoveries you could look into and if you're just interested in the radio frequency aspects then "Astrophysical Applications of Gravitational Microlensing", is a collection of open source papers and if you look through the references you'll find one that's a thesis and that's the one you want, but I can't remember his name, sorry.

[@czarlguitarl]

this video gave me goosebumps...RIP Robert Gray, excellent analysis. Let's get to 1500 hours of study on the Wow signal!!!

[@WmRike]

So, we've only listened to that part of the sky for 10% of the time needed to rule it out... I'm surprised that only 148 hours has been devoted to it, given that it could simply be a matter of hitting a perfect alignment with the source, which could depend on the rotation of both planets syncing up, if it is, indeed, coming from a planet's surface. 148 hours is obviously not enough, given that possibility.

[@AT-SOI]

There is no worse deaf than someone who does not want to hear. The important thing is to spend millions dollars and decades to photograph a black hole ...

[@Thros1]

@@AT-SOI pennies compared to other irrelevant spending, but we should just keep fighting each other on this rock we are stuck on right?

[@AT-SOI]

@@Thros1 there is no need to make comparisons between two different realities, I am talking about money spent on scientific research, not about other issues. And that's the point. Discovering an extraterrestrial alternative could end all our conflicts. Photographing a black hole does not seem to me to be solving the world's problems. right?

[@selina0674]

@@Thros1 there is no need to do whataboutism

[@esecallum]

its just a random signal from local sources. radio signals peter out after 2 light years and become random noise. don't understand the obsession with aliens. if you cant stand the aliens from across the border why would it be any better from stinking bug eyed monsters? ANY ANSWERS?

[@aluisious]

It seems insane to me that we don't have observatories constantly scanning the same part of the sky.

[@Shinzon23]

Observatory's are expensive to run, require specialized personnel to operate, take years to show results, and whilst all data on space is useful, to the less educated and enlightened members of the population ( *Glances at evangelicals and the many inanities of hardliner religions quoting thousand year old texts as if they still hold meaning today* ), such facilities are a "waste of money better used on Earth"

[@TheFinagle]

There is ALOT of sky, and there are MANY interesting things to look at. Even If we took only the observatories we would needed to watch that one point for a year we would miss out on thousands of other significant events. If we knew there was alien contact on the other end of that project it would be worth it 100%. But the evidence isn't there to dedicate that kind of time to one small spot when there is so much going on in the universe.

[@MrDMIDOV]

@@Shinzon23 lol the immediate jump to blame religion rather than blaming the fact that almost all public funds are being allocated to the military-industrial complex and half-assed public services that don’t even work but somehow manages to suck up all funding. Even if religion up and disappeared tomorrow, there’s no way the budget for space exploration increases. Congress would sooner buy shiny cool explody shit from LMT than increase space exploration funding. Unless it’s space militarization of course. The only way we get more funding for space exploration is if China starts getting serious about space exploration. Nothing like a good cold war space race. Right now, space exploration is a “oh i guess that’s cool” in most people’s minds… people just don’t think it’s a priority because of all the immediate problems that we must overcome right now. War in ukraine ring any bell to you?

[@Hartbreak1]

@@TheFinagle I don’t think there’s that many events out in the universe that require a “right now!” type of observation and the events that do are usually rare and don’t happen every day. Events get follow up observations depending on how much importance they’re given, so it means this event was only given that much importance and after initial observations it was deemed no longer important.

[@TheFinagle]

​@@Hartbreak1 An event doesn't have to be rare to be significant. There's a lot of space and there's ALWAYS several things we could be learning or seeing, but we only have so many instruments and can only watch a very small amount of the sky at a time. We miss so much just because we were not looking right at it at the right time, and this signal is just one in a long list of things we could be watching instead of the things we did watch.

[@CommanderSon]

I only understand maybe 10% of the content of Cool Worlds videos, but i am absolutely glued to the screen for 100% of my time watching them. I am so grateful that such diligence and brain power is given to these subjects, even if i struggle to immediately understand what i’m watching. Keep up the great work 👍

[@gabrielM1111]

yah i know what you mean. i think a high iq is required to fully understand is channels videos. us middle iq people are better off going elsewhere on our level

[@fkkawlni]

Fr fr

[@marybodnar4749]

I completely with you. I could only dream of having this level of knowledge. It makes me sad to feel so dumb

[@rohanpatel3204]

⁠@@gabrielM1111nah don’t say that. a number like iq can’t quantify a persons ability to enjoy content like this. even if it’s hard to understand, it’s worth continuing to watch and support. don’t sell urself short. if all of us average folk could grasp this easily we’d all be astronomers and maybe someone would’ve found the next Wow signal by now 😂

[@cirka4497]

All I get is the wow signal didn't repeat itself. Everything else he saying is alien to me.

[@M4gicMark]

“DO NOT ANSWER. DO NOT ANSWER.”

[@valuepak]

That scene was one of the scariest I've ever seen. If the dark forest theory is true, the universe is terrifying. If not, less so.

[@CharleyBrown69]

Since the 1970s we have spent about a week looking at this region of space for another signal. That is what’s WOW!

[@abdulrahmanalmawali2468]

Its insane

[@acmelka]

Can't one of our holy billionaire s pop for 5-8 dishes scattered across the globe to monitor... I believe you can buy a 5 meter antenna for less than a million installed

[@EinsteinsHair]

@@acmelka I don't think a 5 meter dish would detect the WOW signal. Gray's backyard dish probably never had a chance. The Big Ear's dish was 21 by 110 meters, 2300 square meters. A quarter that size should have still detected it, say 600. If today's Low Noise Amplifiers are 30 times as good as what they used in the 1970s then, yes, a 20 square meter antenna would work.

[@acmelka]

@@EinsteinsHair thanks. I know one billionaire who wasted 40 billion on wrecking a app.... If only

[@seditt5146]

Wait... You mean to tell me there has only been a relatively few HOURS of subsequent observation of the relevant area? WTF! Dude I would have never guessed that. We should have receivers pointed there at all times for at least 5-10 years minimum. If that is a directional transmitter on an Exoplanet it could take centuries before the planet comes back around to point towards us. At the very least they should give it a decade before giving up but it feels like they literally just gave up the moment it happened with just random observations here or there because someone was bored.

[@dm121984]

Bonkers isn't it? I hope as satellites and the like get cheaper, some millionaire with an interest in this can comission a simple satellite that just looks for the WOW signal that uses its height and lack of atmosphere watch continuously for Wow.

[@seditt5146]

@scalpel Given the strength and the fact it was blue shifted it would be wise for the government to care. If you are getting potential alien signals strong enough to suggest they are rather close and the shift of the slight suggest its getting even closer it be a good idea to follow up and either identify or rule out just so you don't have and surprises showing up on your door step in a few decades.

[@badlaamaurukehu]

Of course this is an anectdota assumption

[@peterwarnett]

Its intentionally suppressed. Why would this be any different?

[@seditt5146]

@@peterwarnett whats suppressed? Aliens? Bro gimme a break. Every government in the world wants to be the first to report they found alien life so much so that they jumped the gun and reported they found it when we found what we thought were fossils from Mars that turned out to be ferro compounds. made naturally. Every other year someone's reporting they found alien signals which turn out to be bull. Governments would literally kill to show their superiority by being first to find alien life but they haven't yet. All that cover up stuff is to hide blackops aircraft not aliens.

[@pavel9652]

This video is such a gem! Sorry to hear Robert Gray passed away. Respect for doing real science and publishing along with educating the public. It is one of the few, rare youtube channels in this regard. The quality of the video is exceptional, as always! Live long and prosper, prof. David Kipping!

[@MeanBeanComedy]

You do a really great job of making science seem like a "collective human endeavour," like it's a journey and process that we're all undertaking to some extent, and we're all progressing in. It's nice. I'm not sure if I 100% agree, but it's a nice sentiment.

[@solsystem1342]

I mean, practically we are all working towards our scientific understanding. At least it seems that way to me. For basically our entire existence our progress has been tied to scientific understanding. We've been wrong a lot but we keep being wrong less.

[@keulron2290]

Here’s the thing; no matter what branch of science you’re exploring or making discoveries in, and no matter what purpose, it’ll all adds to and benefits the collection human knowledge. So in a sense, it is.

[@gregorywaldron101]

I’d argue most of society contributes to science by simply being an active part of society. How would scientists discover anything beyond the basics without the world we’ve collectively built around them?

[@Tom-uv7ry]

No he doesn't there's far far superior videos and documentaries on the subject

[@geordiejones5618]

Amazing that you two were able to collab before he passed. I hope you and others are able to keep the dream alive, just as he and others have.

[@AppNasty]

Such a perfect outro for him. Not only is he the core of whatever answer we find, but his family, children or even a brother of his, can benefit from his mission. This is something we all want. His book sales will not only feed this final answer in the future but also feed those whom he loved.

[@jhk921]

I have a question, professor. Doesn't lack of new detection of the wow signal also reduce the probability that the signal is from some natural phenomenon?

[@nikitakuznetsov8446]

11:51

[@stargazer7644]

The fact that it was a narrowband signal mostly eliminates all natural phenomena. Only technology generates narrowband signals. So then the signal was either interference from our own technology, or from alien technology.

[@CausticLemons7]

A lot of this is beyond my understanding, but you explained it effectively enough that I've been able to follow along and be as excited as you seem! Thank you.

[@anthonygross226]

Thank you, Professor! My mind is challenged without being overwhelmed. The implications of the subject matter are some of the most profound questions ever asked. I thoroughly enjoy how much I learn with each and every video. With gratitude and admiration.

[@Astronomiespechtler]

I share your enjoyment, Anthony! And this makes now 3 videos from you, Prof. Kipping where i could not hold back my tears - because the amount of emotions you put into those videos is something I've felt my whole about astronomy, but could so far barely find anyone who shares that - until now. Thank you very much!!

[@mahi-kp3fq]

@hey human every system has its manuel- in order to master it- you must understand all its compositions- for humans the catalogue of the earth should be demmanded otherwise it's just trying after trying without getting anywhere .

[@carbon_no6]

Anthony Gross.. pseudo intellectual!

[@jerlee620]

While I don’t agree that Wow can be “conclusively excluded” based on repeatability (owning to the fact that our own signals to the universe have never been repeated)..I am pleasantly surprised to see Cool Worlds increasingly discuss the 👽 topic. Please continue.

[@jerlee620]

@Raistlin Majere Hm not sure..I’ll have to check it out. Thanks for the recommendation!

[@kadoj]

If you’re not into spooky aliens/body horror, probably don’t. XD but, is a great series if that’s a non-issue.

[@letsgobrandon2523]

This. For some reason we portray aliens as these static beings why are trying to be found. If they are like us, they're transmissions will appear random, un focused and relatively weak, with rand focused transmissions reaching out with no real hope of being detected.

[@benw9949]

Our radio and TV signals, and now computer signals, go out from Earth every day. This includes reruns of those radio and TV programs, hit movies, etc. So there's some small potential that repeating (rerun, repeat airings) programs could go out along with non-repeating but non-random signals. Would our media survive the distance to other stars? Would it make any sense to aliens? No idea. But it might.

[@resteazy847]

@Cool Worlds What about a model that backs into some drake equation answers by using assumptions like: (1) aliens at the same phase of technology where they would bother to send/receive a Wow signal are like human beings, and would also do a non-repeating for a few mins, (2) data about the region of sky that has been observed/not observed for the four interesting reasons you mention in your video by all radio telescopes including Big Ear and for how long, (3) some other assumptions based on likely number of habitable exoplanets in the galaxy?

[@SpaceisAce]

I absolutely love your storytelling style. It really inspires me in my own videos. Thank you for bringing so much class to space-content creators👌

[@ancientheart2532]

45 years is but a blink in time. And perhaps, the Wow signal was not intended for us at all. For example, as a mariner, we typically keep the VHF on channel 16...the general hailing freq. But often when you wish to have a more private conversation with another sailor, once the chan. 16 hail has been acknowledged, we switch to another freq. to keep 16 open. So....maybe the Wow signal was just such a request for a freq. change between communicators.

[@0okamino]

Signal message translation: “Is your refrigerator running?”

[@daddystabz]

Being an alumn of the Ohio State University, who detected this signal, in the great state of West Virginia, where a lot of my family are from and where the Big Horn observatory was at, this has always been one of the most interesting discoveries of the radio search for extra-terrestial life to me. RIP Robert and I hope someone takes up your mantle very soon and finally answers this question definitively, using your life's work as the groundwork basis. This video brought me to tears. Thank you so much, Cool Worlds for it.

[@gulktroktet]

It seems like one more potential hope for it being an ET signal would be that you can't just ignore signals that don't repeat, or repeat extremely rarely, because it doesn't account for how many other potential sources of non/rarely-repeating signals there may be. So, in essence, they would have a shorter repeating interval, but that interval would be based on the density of intelligent life producing signals like this. You could even estimate the density of intelligent life from the assumption that this is a non-repeating signal from intelligent life. Something like arecebo planetary radar sweeping through another star system looking for asteroids, just happening to be directed at us at just the right time, so it could never repeat from the same source, but another civilization might do the same thing in the future.

[@TheGreenKnight500]

I think we tend to assume too much about alien behavior and alien technology. We should be just as skeptical of the naysayers as we are of unconfirmed positive results. Our concepts of aliens is nearly 100% speculation. When it comes to civilization-building species, we only have ourselves as a reference point. We have a compass but no map. There is no such thing as an alien expert, but so-called experts like to have their reasoned-out hypotheses about aliens and are quick to dismiss anything outside of those boundaries. Maybe these particular aliens don't have a reason to make orderly repeating signals. Maybe they think Dyson Spheres are a bad idea. Maybe their technology works in a way we can't imagine and we simply can't pick up their signals with our current technology. Maybe their very biology works in a way we've never considered. We can really only make assumptions based on what we know and what we think we still have to learn. Despite our advancements in the past few hundred years, our ignorance is possibly infinite and anything we think we know is potentially false.

[@SeeMeRolling]

@@TheGreenKnight500 but one of the facts was that the signal can only be artificially created

[@lordfrostdraken]

Owie my brains…

[@jamesritter4813]

Well you may be glad to know seti has been sending out signals to space giving info of are planet's location in the milkyway.altho I fully agree that this is a terrible idea n despite there warnings they do it anyways

[@jamesritter4813]

Also u are 100 %correct we may have a better chance with a.i going through the data and see if it can depict if it's created by alien life forms. But as you said we have no idea what they could be how they are or the way they may speak if they even speak. Why would we assume they created radios and use radio waves at all

[@nuxboxen]

This video moved me, the craftsmanship of this video, your voice, it's so beautiful.

[@briannewman532]

I have been working my way through your videos, and I have to say that they are some of the very best content anywhere on the internet, period.

[@amandahugginkiss55]

I imagine Robert Gray is resting peacefully knowing that Dr Kipping is continuing the search to WoWs meaning. I would've loved being a fly on the wall when this transmission was seen for the first time. Thank you for creating another amazing video. I adore Cool Worlds and all the content you produce! Thank you!

[@dandeeteeyem2170]

This is a prank gone horribly wrong. Someone out there has a great burden on their conscience, no doubt. Why doesn't someone do a FOIA request for old military satellite telemetry data?

[@DeathValleyDazed]

@@dandeeteeyem2170 Well, why isn’t that “someone” you? Please proceed with your FOIA and report your results here.

[@DeathValleyDazed]

@@viperracing2889 - Very clever comment. Love dark humor.

[@rickschrager]

This is the most comprehensive treatment of the WOW signal on KZbin. Geared for the non physicist. Thank you for the great work!

[@Jamster22101]

Great video as always. Thank you for sharing. And thank you for your insight, your professionalism, and your enthusiasm. Also thank you for your class. Thanking and crediting Robert Gray for his contributions.

[@mikem.s.1183]

You're just unbelievable, Professor. In a technical, scientific video, you paid homage to Robert Gray. Your sense of wonder and mission are invaluable to us. Thank you.

[@jonathansanantonio2402]

I love your videos. They're very well produced, informative & fun to watch :)

[@TubeUil]

I'm very happy to have found your channel! Your voice is very nice for me to listen to! I really enjoy how you speak about space and science, you not only clearly explain things, you leave room for awe, wonder and also lonelyness and weirdness. In short, the emotions along with learning to understand better what is the universe we live in. QUestion: could you please upload your video's as a podcast too. I often just listen rather then speak. But I would enjoy it while walking in the mountains too, being able to just listen to your words. Kind regards from Amsterdam, the Netherlands

[@Hillwatch]

I feel like scientists looking for the wow signal was like me waiting for a text back from a girl back when I was single…

[@flyjet787]

You are a one-of-a-kind scientist and man. Over the last year or so I've become a very big fan of your work. You really put the heart back into human exploration and science.

[@mackenzie9642]

The videos you produce to the standard that you do, bring me more peace and hope than words can articulate. I wish, when I was in high school, that science & physics were taught in the same engaging and awe inspiring format that you do. Thank you so much, you’re a truly gifted educator 👏🏽 Rest easy Rob, you’ve got the best man on the job to take over your hard work and passion 🖤

[@reggieziet]

Well said, exactly my thoughts

[@behr121002]

Hear, hear! Couldn't agree more!

[@CoolWorldsLab]

Thanks for those kind words, I hope this video does Gray’s memory justice.

[@voodoochile7581]

Ditto

[@pineapplepenumbra]

@@CoolWorldsLab "I hope this video does Gray’s memory justice." Rest assure, it most certainly does.

[@akashbhullar]

What a Consistency, What a Quality, What a depth.

[@RedSkyHorizon]

I believe the word you're looking for is, Wow!

[@mattsmith5421]

I've watched this video every night to fall asleep to and each night I think I'll comment tomorrow but always forget so I'm doing it now I think it's great how you mention the actual person who discovered the signal. I've watched space stuff constantly for the past 6 years on KZbin and seen plenty on the wow signal and not once did anyone say it was found by a member of the public never mind naming the guy. Props to you guys for giving him the credit he deserves

[@scottehftm]

One of the best youtube videos I've ever seen. Thank you so much for putting this together

[@DeathValleyDazed]

The ending of the video with your heart felt tribute to Mr. Gray brought tears to my eyes.

[@chuautesuma]

C'mon Robert, you only needed 1,500. more hours, how rough, and tragic... The footnote that he was the first amateur astronomer granted access to such an array will live on. Thank you man, will read the book!

[@bubbless.9529]

My condolences to you and to Robert Gray’s family. May he Rest In Peace. I hope that someone at NASA will take up this research now that they are open to looking into UAPs.

[@khumokwezimashapa2245]

I actually think "WOW" was some sort of extremely rare natural phenomena, because the signal never repeated. Some part of me hopes it's artificial

[@timd3469]

I don't think we can say it never repeated. We have looked in, or maybe more accurately listened back to, the area we believe* it came from. But far from continuously. My understanding is that it has NOT been monitored the VAST majority of the time. *My understanding is that the two horns mean we are not certain which part of the sky it came from. But that may be wrong.

[@khumokwezimashapa2245]

@@timd3469 Valid point. It might have repeated, but we just never caught it.

[@tabby73]

But didn't he say Robert Gray had a telescope in his backyard specifically to listen for it? Presumably continuously?

[@timd3469]

@@tabby73 he did, and Robert did. I don't know how much of the possible source area his telescope could cover though. Even if it was 100%, the rotation of the Earth means he is only monitoring it a fraction of the time. I do hope it was aliens even though I wouldn't bet money on it.

[@dirremoire]

Exactly.The rotation of the Earth precludes the fact that it could ever be continuously monitored from just one telescope.

[@jamesshaffer206]

Wow, I was 12 during the first wow signal. 45 years ago. I remember when this was in the news. This is really good to hear, I have often wondered about that wow signal. Thank you. I love this channel.

[@SMELLGOODER]

I was 5, and 0 memories of the initial occurrence ........but now? WOW, indeed.

[@jamesshaffer206]

@@SMELLGOODER yes it is, lol us older ppl been waiting to hear of Alien life for a long time.. the possibilities..........

[@heuzame6198]

I wasnt even born by then. Actually i wasnt even born after a lot of things happened, but it is still worth to wonder about it.

[@raymondtorres196]

I was 3 and half years old, & i am the couse of the WOW signal!!! My mom's told me we were on a 747 & the pilot let in his lap for a pic, then I dropped my bottle it spilled all my baby milk all over the instruments, sparks were all over, the pilot said" WOW" all the instruments all sending signals all over the place...So you see that's how I believe iwas the couse of the "WOW" Signal...

[@jamesshaffer206]

@@raymondtorres196 ok Raymond, I’ll buy that. It’s probably almost as good a theory there is anyhow. Lol. By the way, cause is with an a not an o.

[@ArcherAC3]

With a 100% confidence, it's simply impossible to watch a Cool World's video without tearing up.

[@brandonmtb3767]

Love how you “squeeze” everything out of the data, as you said. This video and the one about artificial gravity where you showed the graph of practical spaceships and requirements for artificial gravity on long journeys. Just love seeing all the possibilities instead of just saying “hey this idea is cool”

[@benchasinghorizons9428]

Standing on the shoulder of a giant...

[@andykod77]

Yep cause we all got our spaceships in the garage which we can hop in at our leisure right

[@jacobvreeland6147]

@@andykod77 FFS, how many said that about cars or cell phones or international air travel, shits gotta start somewhere.

[@andykod77]

@@jacobvreeland6147 here's hoping right

[@JIMMYtheB0B]

@@andykod77 OP "thanks for doing thorough and intuitive stats analysis for us" Andy "but I don't have a spaceship"

[@freespirit995]

Thank you for that thought-provoking and highly informative video. The standard of your Cool Worlds videos is simply outstanding! I have no scientific training but hugely enjoy your presentations, so thank you once again for all the effort you put into them.

[@Nekog1rl]

Dr. Kipping: Just wanted to say, thank you personally for this video. You of all people I'd expect to call the Wow! signal dead. Your unfailing inquiry into the truth is amazing. I have my personal beliefs, and have shared them on social media, but you were the inspiration and I thank you for that. Stay curious. Stay awesome.

[@leonvb6236]

Congrats on this beautiful episode, it catches my logic and my soul. Great analysis btw, how the sandbox approach turns the analytic view around and recognise the probability of detecting the signal again.

[@pyrotas]

This is a work of love, dedication and science. As a fellow scientist, in a totally different field, chapeu.

[@glasgowjohn7831]

i'd never heard of Robert till i watched this and when i learned he was the first amateur to get time at the VLA i gave out a 'get in there'. only to be saddened when i learned of his death, such a shame he never got to see the finish of his work, i hope of course we find out about the WOW and Roberts name's forever linked to it

[@Argiriosk]

Greetings from Greece! Such a nicely presented video about such an important Astronomy subject. Cool Worlds raises the bar for You Tube videos!!! Great job! Thank you for being so comprehensive and informative.

[@Zonaskiosk1]

Hope the dark forest theory is wrong, otherwise sending signals will turn out to be big mistake

[@moroteseoinage]

We foxed up already. Guess we’ll find out.

[@InformativeFisherman]

Thank you for another incredible video

[@BillAnt]

Rage Against the Machine did a cool Wow-Wow too. ;D kzbin.info/www/bejne/aX2XiqV9lrdre5Y

[@ittybittyrampagingcommittee]

David: * _breathes_ * Me: 👀🦻 “Fascinating.”

[@glenmorrison8080]

12:02 Just stumbled on this channel out of the blue. As a scientist myself, I have to say how much I admire you translating your work into this highly accessible public-facing format. That is really really cool. You don't see many actual researchers here on KZbin. Should be more. :)

[@owenpaus4836]

FINALLY FOUND YOU. I always watch these kinds of videos while I’m doing stuff and I always forget to subscribe and of course when I want to find your channel KZbin never shows your videos and I can never remember the channel name. Dude I literally spent two hours today looking for you and of course I just open the app looking for another background video and bam here you are.

[@SonicBoone56]

Holy cow, not pulling any stops with this one. Very impressive work yet again!

[@viperracing2889]

This story is a big lie. They were able to trace the signal to a microwave in the lunch room.

[@EternamDoov]

​@@viperracing2889In what lunch room? The detectors were outside.

[@EternamDoov]

The phrase is "pulling out all of the stops" in reference to pipe organs. What you said means the opposite of what you intended.

[@judem1359]

Amazing! I was too young to remember the ‘Wow’ signal in real time but have learned about it since. Carl Sagan’s book ‘Contact’ is one of my favs……. I was never great at maths but love everything to do with the universe, planets, and their mysteries and I love checking in to the NASA deep space network and watch the signals being sent to Voyager from Tidbinbilla radio telescope in Canberra, here in Australia or when it’s receiving a signal from Voyager- so special as the expectation is that there’s only a few years left when we may be able to detect Voyager’s signal at all …… just extraordinary ….. 😊😊😊🇦🇺

[@Ethank33]

I've never commented. I dont know why, but all I got to say is you are my favorite educational youtuber. Maybe because you are credible? You cite your sources and you're an astronomical physicist? Or is it your enthralling voice combined with your ability to coherently articulate the insanity of the cosmos? Idk but mad love ❤️

[@Ethank33]

The edit was a "an" lol

[@Avargatoth]

Thinking of the wow signal, how far ago it was and statistically speaking theres still a small chance it could be something magnificent, puts a warm smile on my face.

[@MoonjumperReviews]

Staying curious, sir! Fascinating video. I look at it this way: As I understand it, the primary detractor of this and other interesting signals over the years is that it has only been detected once without repeat. But here’s the thing… Often I make a phone call or receive a phone call to/from a person I will only speak with them once, and with our business concluded, I have no reason to speak with them again. That certainly doesn’t mean that I don’t exist; it certainly doesn’t mean that he/she doesn’t exist. It means I have no reason to repeat the call.

[@solsystem1342]

They also don't have to establish first contact over lightyears without a shared language or agreed means of comunication. It's silly to send one signal and expect someone to respond. If you want someone to pick up the phone you don't shine a window into their bedroom one night and then wait. You'd keep flashing it until they send you something back or something at least.

[@MoonjumperReviews]

@@solsystem1342 True, although that assumes that the signal was meant for us and we didn’t answer. I would tend to assume the signal had nothing to do with us, but we just happened to observe it. (Or it is wasn’t a signal at all.) Anything is possible.

[@JonnoPlays]

Could it be a case of human influence in some way? Somebody manually sending a signal directly to the observatory on purpose for some reason? Perhaps a cruel practical joke or a scientist trying to get more funding for bigger and better equipment? I hate to be such a naysayer, but without a repeat event it's hard to believe it came from an intelligent source unless that intelligence was here on Earth with their own selfish motivations. Regardless I feel like this was the best video explaining the Wow! Signal as well as the mystery surrounding it. It's also really cool you got to work with Robert. Excellent production as always. The world of science needs people like you to make it interesting and understandable. I love all your work.

[@matvimat]

Wow!

[@LuigiCotocea]

Wow!

[@truthsmiles]

I’ve also wondered if it could have been spoofed, but I think for that to be the case the spoofer would need to at least generally understand how Big Ear worked, build a narrow band transmitter tuned to 1420, aim it at a single horn, and then send the signal in a perfect bell curve. Further, they’d have to be ‘committed to the bit’ by never doing it a second time, nor leaking their prank to anyone. Likely? No. More likely than an alien signal? It would seem so.

[@JonnoPlays]

@@truthsmiles I was thinking the same thing actually. Someone who knows how the big ear works would be the only likely culprit. Not like some kids with a laser pointer could pull it off, not saying that would even work of course but just as an example that is relatable. It would make it easier to get a bigger ear so to speak if you need it to search for a wow signal. The funding process of all these research facilities is a really big motivator for the people running them I would imagine. Desperate people take desperate measures. It's also so strange that only one horn picked it up. Would be hard to get a fake signal into both horns I would imagine.

[@truthsmiles]

@@JonnoPlays Let's assume a scientist working at Big Ear who is willing to do whatever it takes to get funding comes up with a scheme to create the Wow! signal... I would think building a small handheld low-power transmitter that operates on 1420 MHz and just sends noise or a sine wave would be well within the scientist's capabilities. Then, while no one is around, they could walk right up to the horn and, following a bell curve of sorts, turn the signal up and then down over 72 seconds while holding the device inches from the horn. Completely feasible, IMO. BUT, does that really achieve the objective? First, as far as I know, no new funding came of it (maybe I'm wrong about that?). And second, to get more funding, wouldn't it make sense to make it more convincing? Like, why not do both horns? And then, why not repeat it in the future? Maybe even clip the signal partway through one of the bell curves to make it seem to abruptly cut off - you know, something to more strongly suggest intelligent life? Idk, it just seems to me if it was a spoof, it could have been done better? Also, I'd think we'd know by now... some 90 year old guy would have written a confession to be opened after his death to say he did it to try and save the project. I know everyone isn't like me, but I'd have a hard time living with the knowledge that my 'little white lie' misled the entire world for 50 years.

[@ooklah671]

You are the only channel on KZbin I can actually make sense of all of this through your explanations. Thank you! It would be nice to see you on the Joe Rogan podcast and share some of your knowledge with others.

[@Arclight104]

Imagine being an intelligent species sending out these signals and going through all the effort only for the intended recipients to just not have the tech to decipher your messages or even recognise it as a message at all. Even worse, that might be the only signal that species sent out before it went extinct.

[@mstrfool]

Don't need to imagine. We are living it.. All except the extinction part. Though humans are putting in real effort on that.

[@mstrfool]

@@sgvincent100 Ok, you rock.

[@pineapplepenumbra]

@@sgvincent100 Actually it says, "We want _all_ of your biscuits!"

[@MentalWanderings]

If they send signals out in a wide spread, I'd imagine they'd also catch a more advanced species as well. I mean if there are two, there may be more. Hopefully!

[@mstrfool]

@@MentalWanderings If you never find something, you can be forgiven for not believing in it. But, if you find it even once, odds are good there are many more you simply haven't found. Personally I feel humans count as that one. To me, the proof that others are out there is.. Well, humans are.

[@lippythelion8627]

I'd like a thought experiment on this, coming from the hypothetical aliens viewpoint. Why would you send the signal? Where would you send it to and how often? Why would you send a narrow beam signal in one direction only? What if their resources are limited and they could not 'afford' to send it in our direction again? (in the same way our telescope resources are limited) - would that even be a thing for a more advanced civilisation? Lots of other questions too about their side of the story.

[@Rebelrenaissance]

depending on how far away the source is, a movement as small as tectonic shifts could redirect the signal billions of eventual miles away. so I guess it could be that. or it could be a spray and pray strategy. maybe due to power limits, orbits or similar. could be literally anything at all depending on how that life evolved to communicate, relate to consciousness or time etc. 🤷‍♂️

[@kittehgo]

Sorry guys, we are scrapping this project. You get only one chance to do this radio thing, then unfortunately we have to pack it up.

[@shellderp]

You're assuming it would have to be an intentional signal to other civilizations. We're constantly sending out radio waves from antennas, satellites, into space that anyone could observe

[@marcopohl3236]

@@shellderp it went from weak to strong to weak again, suggesting that it was a laser emitted from a rotating surface

[@feliciagaffney1998]

@@marcopohl3236 I thought the strength was accounted for by our rotation

[@user-li7ec3fg6h]

Thank you very much for this very special video, dear Prof. Kipping. It's great and impressive how you explain this and remember this dedicated scientist. I will not forget that and hope that the hopes you expressed come true.

[@rnbnatl]

Thanks for the video and thank you for your continued work on this question

[@BoDiddly]

I have always had this curiosity about the Wow! Signal! I am so glad you are interested as well! It has always seemed to me that there weren't enough people trying to detect it again or that were at least studying it. In 1977, I was 10 years old, and I read about the Wow! Signal back then because my father always had a subscription to Scientific America (and other science/tech magazines) in the house. In the Army, my father worked with Radars and Satellites in the Signal Corps.

[@magnusbruce4051]

That was an incredible analysis and extremely well explained.

[@viperracing2889]

This story is a big lie. They were able to trace the signal to a microwave in the lunch room.

[@DrkCarbalt]

This video is so great the region of space was so big that it requires a lot of time of observation to fully disproved it.

[@kotikbeamng]

Signal "Wow!", - a strong narrow-band radio signal, registered by Dr. while working on the Big Ear radio telescope at Ohio State University. Listening to radio signals was carried out within the framework of the SETI project. The signal characteristics (transmission bandwidth, signal-to-noise ratio) corresponded (in some interpretations) to those theoretically expected from a signal of extraterrestrial origin.

[@jamesgeary4294]

Amazing work again, and it definitely gives me some hope for a repeat, but I'm still wondering how does not detecting it again rule out the possibility of a one-off intelligent signal, either something like the one-off messages we've sent into space, or some accidental leakage that won't be directed our way again?

[@CoolWorldsLab]

A one-off signal is fully accounted for by this model remember! The probability of someone sending a one off is not that important, the real issue is the probability of detection is infinitesimal. If someone sends one signal out over *all time* (which defines a one off) then the probability of detection is far far far far less likely than some kind of repeating schedule.

[@jamesgeary4294]

@@CoolWorldsLab so essentially the odds of wow being a one-off intelligent signal and us happening to detect that one-off signal would be insanely small?

[@liammoore7122]

@@jamesgeary4294 yeah I think it’s saying the odds of us picking up a one off signal is so small that scientifically speaking we couldn’t conclude that is the case.

[@jamesgeary4294]

@@liammoore7122 I wonder then could the same model used to figure out how much more observation time was needed to confirm wow also be used to ask how frequent one-off signals might be if we assume wow is one, and that the Big Ear radio telescope still detected one over its search time? Maybe could be a proxy for how many civilizations are in the galaxy?

[@simontmn]

@@CoolWorldsLab What if a lot of one-off signals are being sent out? Surely that is not implausible?

[@zappababe8577]

It always tickles me that there's a telescope called "The Very Large Array". On this basis, I'm disappointed that the Australians didn't call theirs the "Crikey! What a Whopper!" Radio Telescope.

[@Bobbied100]

The VLA is a very cool thing to see!

[@Bob-Jenkins]

I think that one of the scientists said that he likes to call it "the bloody huge array".

[@stargazer7644]

We also have the "Very Large Telescope (VLT)", the "Extremely Large Telescope (ELT)" and the "Overwhelmingly Large Telescope (OWL)". Alas, they decided to do the ELT instead of the OWL.

[@jamespkinsella5018]

Nice to see that curiosity is part of our being.

[@steve-3p-oh280]

Cool Worlds is by far my favorite channel and I thoroughly enjoyed this video like no other.

[@zigzee1]

Thank you, the best explanation of the 'WOW' signal I have yet heard. Keep up your good work.

[@viperracing2889]

This story is a big lie. They were able to trace the signal to a microwave in the lunch room.

[@theworldofayya]

what an amazing video into the power of science to deep dive into a question. Super inspired!

[@kehlery]

im so surprised i never knew the signal was 1420MHz, thats so insanely significant

[@MCK3274]

Thank you for going into the WOW signal in depth.

[@StevinVan]

That was beautiful, especially the tribute at the end

[@user-mj6lz2rt7r]

I have a question: how many times we sent and repeat the signal? Even though we did sent a few times, we never repeat it! So from our own behavior we can draw conclusion that repeat of the signal is only way to say it's artificial signal! So answer is no, because we never didn't repeat our own signal! Secondly if you study the signal it looks like someone/something that sent it, move to the line - we if want to say someone "hey we exist" we would do the same, we would move the frequency, to show it's artificial! So reverse your thoughts, start from what we would do and what we did till today and if we do decide to send today, what's the best way for someone to recognize us! If you reverse it everything is matching like a glove !

[@solsystem1342]

We would send a repeating signal if it wasn't just for show. It's way easier to show something is artificial when it's like flashing the first 100 digits of pie in binary repeatedly rather then one signal. With energy limitations we might only do it occasionally but, if you stop there's no way for the sender to do follow up and go through the process of decoding, locating, and sending a reply. Even just a signal that repeats once a day with some weird properties like different lengths and frequencies of transition every day would make it way easier.

[@andreassk]

So speechless after watching any CW videos and especially this one. So much to think about. Thank you.

[@JeffWalker121]

There is a 3-6-1-3 in channel 7 at 22.26 in the video, next to the WOW! signal. It too seems like a Bell Curve. Shorter in duration, maybe 30s and also not repeated. Also, over in channel 16 during WOW! there is a 7, alone by itself. There were some 3's before the 7. There is a 6 preceding WOW! in channel 4, and some 4's afterwards in channel 4. Nobody ever talks about these other signals. Sharpness of signals(s) about a few known frequencies seems to imply non-natural cause. Can't think of any extra-terrestrial event that would trigger such sharp signals? Surely any et- event known would produce a plethora of noise across hundreds of frequencies and be expected to be periodic? Lack of repetition implies non-natural phenomena. But it also implies no attempt at repeated communication. A strange thing to do for intelligent life. If I was having a drink late one Saturday night contemplating its source, I would hazard a guess it was an accidental release of energy from an an intelligent life, that really wasn't trying to communicate at all.

[@SpaceHCowboy]

That's f'ing genius that theory.... I love when someone comes up with something absolutely plausible.... My next question would be, say for example.... we were that extra terrestrial life and wanted to be seen... What kind of energy/kind of event are we talking??? Again..... "if you could get as close to replicating such an event using means and parameters within the realms of possibility within the human race" what would we need to do in order to send a signal of that kind that distance?? I'm genuinely interested in exploring this chain of thought... 👍🏼

[@stargazer7644]

Radio telescopes pick up lots of things, and lots of noise. Candidate signals must have specific expected profiles, and if those profiles are found, each candidate signal has to be analyzed to make sure it isn't man-made interference. A LOT more goes into it than just circling numbers on the paper. Most of those single events are likely just noise.

[@xntumrfo9ivrnwf]

"The observatory wasn't set up to .... AM/FM modulation" - interestingly, if the sample rate were higher (than the 5 or 6 samples observed in the 72 seconds), it would kind of have been able to "detect" modulation. On the FM side, its 10khz channel bandwidth wasn't enough to "decode" a message, but it would have been clear if the frequency was being modulated.

[@yun.mp4728]

The signal wasn’t caught from the beginning of transmission we actually caught the wow signal about 3/4 of the way through, so yeah we saw modulation but not enough to explicitly say this is communication, still it’s amazing to think if we were mearly seconds or minutes earlier we could have clearly seen a signal pattern:(

[@opiesmith9270]

@@yun.mp4728 what do you mean we caught the Wow! Signal 3/4 of the way through. How can we tell that from the data? The earth swung the big ear across the sky, through the signal. There can’t be any way to tell the actual duration of the signal only it has to be at least longer than 72 seconds, and possibly less than 3 minutes or the second ear could have detected it (50% odds the first ear detected the signal)

[@user-zn4pw5nk2v]

Fun fact, my back of the envelope calculation says "it's the sun". 360 deg /24 hrs = 15 deg/hr =0.25 deg/min * 72/60 length of signal in min = 0.30 deg width of the signal *60 to turn it to arc minutes = 18 arc mins size static object ~= 30 arc min (the width of the sun according to google quoting nasa) plus the sun is burning hydrogen which should be in the near enough range(or i misunderstood what he was explaining) The reason it was only in one ear, it could have been a passive reflection. And the real signal should be to the left on the graph (double length, double amplitude), because you are looking at the resonance(harmonic) frequency (as the 6 or 8 on the right suggest, because it lines with the peak of the signal, it's just out of band by something like 10-50 khz i need to recount to be more specific, another distance of wow to fluke, but on the other side of wow) and if you double the length, it gets to 36 ark minutes. Assuming that was only the middle peak and the rest was below noise levels. So either the sun or something of the same size in the sky (and 0.3° if you look only at the wow signal as is), 0.5 to 0.6 is 16% error ( if you say the next number is 0-9 on both, then it's between 27.5% and 1.6% error and another ~0.33% from day not exactly 24 hrs ) so my current hypothesis at the high accuracy end is just as accurate as his probability. And a nice coincidence the width of the signal is 72 sec, and so is the width of the window we are looking from (72 sec from what he said), (i'm getting 1/15 mins from the rotation of earth for 1 minute over 1 arc minute opening, as stated, if 3 minutes apart and are as shown in the diagram, (width/15) if openings rotated by 90° individually )

[@yun.mp4728]

@@opiesmith9270 if you look up the Wow signal the data we caught from it the signal was only a slice of the actual full transmission of the signal itself, if we had caught the data slightly later we could have had enough data to coherently say the modulation rose in a pattern typical to that of broadcasting out from a relay. Edit: sorry I understand this didn’t really answer your question, there is no way to tell without the missing data. We caught 72 seconds of wow it’s transmission was indeed way longer.

[@yun.mp4728]

@@user-zn4pw5nk2v @opie smith haha wow you know your frequencies dude! I don’t know a lot about frequency but it was understood that wow peaked over those 72 seconds like you said, so that would be your answer as to how we know the length of the transmission?

[@vanish85]

From my naive perspective I find it truly frustrating that we have dedicated just 184 hours of observations to advance our knowledge on this! I imagine that there is an absurd amount of very compelling studies that need observation time, but it’s such a basic question for humanity that it feels “right” to dedicate more resources to it…

[@thenestfall1991]

I welled up at the end in hearing the reverent respect used when discussing your being part of the paper with Robert.

[@donovanthompson2212]

Damn dude, really glad i found your channel. This was such a great video i didnt touch my food past the 2 min mark. Cant wait to see what you do next!

[@bobcourtier4674]

It was a warning, “Be quiet or they’ll hear you”.

[@craigthescott5074]

Very possible

[@andreafarina385]

This isn't just unlikely, it's quite disprovable. The signal either came for very near (and we would have detected aliens or other sources that near) or it originated far before we could use radio signals and made ourselves detectable. It just doesn't make any sense

[@craigthescott5074]

@@andreafarina385 I think Bob was making the statement about the earth being detected in general by an aggressive species of alien. Not specifically the Wow signal which has been proven doesn’t have a message in it.

[@TheExoplanetsChannel]

That would be great news!

[@Scragg-]

Or terrible news if the dark forest theory is true.

[@joshuapatrick682]

for the signal to have been switched on or off at random dozens to thousands of light years away in a time unknowable to line up perfectly with that scenario is probably less likely than it being the anomaly you mentioned at the beginning of the video...

[@fUkUTubeZn00B]

It seems odd that, as someone who really hates math, that it turns out to be the most accurate portrait of our universe possible. Your analysis moves me to re-enroll next semester. Thanks.

[@daguy5680]

Best briefing on this subject I've ever heard, Thanks

[@fluffysheap]

The wow signal is one of my favorite topics. The problem I see is that we know that the signal doesn't repeat very often, or we'd have seen it. But it's also been 45 years. Why would an alien spend 45 years (or likely more, if we haven't seen it since, we probably didn't see its first instance) trying to reach us, but only transmit so sporadically? Isn't there a stronger possibility that they have just given up by now? In this case further searching must be fruitless. Or, statistically speaking, the probability of a detection in new observations is not necessarily the same as it was then. But if it's a terrestrial artifact, it most likely would not repeat either, especially 45 years later. 45 years may or may not be a long time for aliens, but it is for us. And it doesn't look like a natural signal, but it can't be ruled out, either. Natural signals don't typically repeat erratically, they normally repeat regularly or not at all. But nature is also very patient and if the signal has a period of 45 years or more, it would not be reproducible either. Since we don't know what kind of natural signal could have produced it, it's hard to constrain this. Unfortunately the most likely outcome of further searching is coming up empty, and this is consistent with all three origins for the signal.

[@huldu]

Maybe the signal was't aimed specifically toward Earth in the first place. Let's just play with the thought that there are aliens somewhere in the galaxy and they have no idea that there is life on Earth. They're randomly sending out signals just like I assume we humans do. Maybe we just got lucky that the signal hit Earth in the first place. Perhaps a sign that we just weren't ready to begin with. I shudder at the thought alone of actually *detecting* a verified alien signal. That would be terrifying and exciting at the same time.

[@charlescook5542]

Sending signals long distance is energy intensive, so if you don’t know that technological civilizations are currently in the area then it makes sense to play the long game and transmit infrequently until you receive a return signal.

[@genegayda3042]

The problem is that if the signal is artificial, is that we don't know what type of data was transmitted, why it was transmitted , and how it was transmitted. From the video, its guessing like this was a single sideband (SSB) transmission on a channel 50 Khz off of 1420 Khz that had a 10 Khz bandwidth and was used because the 1420 Khz area of the spectrum is low background noise. If this was a point to point signal such a laser or as a directional wifi comms such as getting internet to a house on a an island a couple miles off shore, we were just lucky to cross in the path of the signal. We do not know where the the source point was, we do not know where the destination was or even if we were behind or in front of the destination point. If this was a very narrow beam meant for a third party instead of us, there would be no reason to point the signal beam at the earth again. This could have been a laser pointer someone was using while standing on a train pointing at a car that we just walked in front of for 72 seconds while looking at the right direction on a moonless night.

[@Chrispins]

@@genegayda3042 It takes a lot of energy to broadcast through space unless it's focused as a laser. Our radio/TV broadcasts can't even be distinguished from background noise after a few lightyears traveling through space due to inverse square law. Unless that WOW signal was intentionally sent to earth, I doubt we will ever see it again. The fact that it's so close to 1420 Khz makes me think the source is a laser radio transmitter that's randomly sweeping through the stars in hopes of getting a response. Whoever/whatever is transmitting is much more likely to get a response than we are to ever hear from it again.

[@ashraile]

The Wow signal is more likely than not some kind of natural phenomenon, like a neutron star collission whose quasar was aimed right towards earth or crossed earth's path, and the tail end of that emission was detected by the emitter.

[@dirremoire]

Whether or not it repeats, the Wow signal certainly qualifies as extraordinary evidence in my book.

[@dirremoire]

@@viperracing2889 Aliens have microwave ovens?

[@dirremoire]

Absolutely. Aliens that have mastered interstellar communication certainly have microwave ovens.

[@tankeater]

The fact that we don't have multiple dishes around the world doing this every day absolutely boggles my mind...

[@ayumu_osaka]

You can pay for them if you want.

[@AYVYN]

A wise squid once said, I am all out of money

[@NikHem343]

I put this video on to fall asleep and got so excited that I needed another half hour after it finished to calm down

[@garmmermibe5397]

Shed a few tears there at the end. Thank you, Professor Kipping.

[@visvivalaw]

If it was a narrow beam aimed somewhere specific and Earth just happened to pass through it, the only way to see it again would be to send a probe to wherever Earth was on that day in 1977. That point is (very roughly, assuming 45 years ago and the Sun moving at 200 km/sec through the galaxy) 285 billion kilometers away (about 1900 AU or .03 light years). Best get started.

[@lukebalderose334]

The source of the beam is also moving.

[@visvivalaw]

@@lukebalderose334 True. And that's an unknowable factor.

[@cba070288]

That's what exactly I was thinking.....everything is moving in the expanding universe.......