Monday, August 13, 2007

The WOW! Signal's 30th Anniverary




Well, not until the 15th. Just getting a jump on things. Trying to describe the event makes my head hurt--it involves megaHertz and hydrogen atoms and all KINDS of scientific nutiness that makes the wikipedia entry I came across on The Copenhagen Technique For Quantum Suicide read like a Stewart Sternberg blog entry. Simply put, the only evidence of an extraterrestrial transmission coming from space occurred on the 15th of August, 1977. The guy volunteering watching the readings in the wee hours over dere at Big Ear in Ohio wrote WOW! in the proper area and that was that. The transmission lasted for 72 seconds, as expected because of the way the Big Ear heard the sky, or what-freaking-ever, my head hurts trying to describe anything related to this. The signal originated near Chi-1 Sagitarii, towards the galactic center of our galaxy. (Note: the area where the Big Ear station once stood was demolished to make room for a golf course.) What I find interesting is that, just a few hundred miles south of Big Ear and within a few hours of the WOW event, Elvis Presley died. Or could it be that he was simply called back home? For all those who do not think Elvis originated in space, I offer you the article about Caveman Elvis. You decide.