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The original Big Ear printout with Jerry Ehman's "Wow!" annotation
The original Big Ear printout with Jerry Ehman's "Wow!" annotation. Image: Big Ear Radio Observatory and North American AstroPhysical Observatory (NAAPO) · Public domain · via Wikimedia Commons
Science & space · Ohio, USA · 15 August 1977

The Wow! Signal

Unresolved1977 CEBig Ear radio telescope, Delaware, Ohio

A 72-second burst of radio energy that never came back.

Research draft · editor review pending. Every claim below is linked to a checked source, but this dossier has not yet been reviewed by a human editor. Spot an error? Corrections are logged.

On 15 August 1977, the Big Ear radio telescope at Ohio State University, scanning the sky for signs of extraterrestrial intelligence, recorded a strong, narrow-band signal near 1420 megahertz — the natural frequency of hydrogen. Volunteer astronomer Jerry Ehman circled the printout and wrote 'Wow!' beside it.

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Connected dossiers

The Discovery of PulsarsContrast · A strange signal that was replicated and explained.Europa's Hidden OceanSame open question · Searching for life beyond Earth.

See The Wow! Signal in the discovery universe →

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How to read the labels

EstablishedSupported by strong, converging evidence.
ContestedEvidence exists but qualified scholars disagree.
UnresolvedThe question is open; evidence does not settle it.
LegendComes from myth, literature or tradition, not physical evidence.
SpeculativeA hypothesis with little direct evidence so far.

Hero image: The original Big Ear printout with Jerry Ehman's "Wow!" annotation. Image: Big Ear Radio Observatory and North American AstroPhysical Observatory (NAAPO) · Public domain · via Wikimedia Commons. Evidence labels describe the written claims, not the image. Version 1 · updated 2026-10-22.