Six characters on a computer printout. One handwritten word: Wow.

Michael and Bella investigate the unusual radio signal recorded by Ohio's Big Ear telescope in 1977. What did the instrument actually measure? Why did the signal attract attention? And how do researchers test an extraordinary observation they cannot reliably repeat?

Follow the evidence through the famous 6EQUJ5 sequence, the telescope's two receiving beams, later searches, proposed natural explanations, and a recent reanalysis of archived observations. An unexplained signal leaves a question to investigate; it does not, by itself, establish a sender.

Explore more investigations and continue the inquiry at https://eftsona.com.

Eftsona. Question Everything.

This episode features AI-generated narration.

SOURCES / SHOW NOTES

Jerry R. Ehman, The Big Ear Wow! Signal: 30th Anniversary Report

https://www.bigear.org/Wow30th/wow30th.htm

Jerry R. Ehman, Explanation of the Code 6EQUJ5

https://www.bigear.org/6equj5.htm

SETI Institute, The Wow Signal

https://www.seti.org/research/seti-101/the-wow-signal

Robert H. Gray and Simon Ellingsen, A Search for Periodic Emissions at the Wow Locale (2002)

https://www.bigear.org/Gray-Ellingsen.pdf

David Kipping and Robert Gray, Could the Wow signal have originated from a stochastic repeating beacon? (2022)

https://arxiv.org/abs/2206.08374

Abel Mendez and colleagues, Arecibo Wow! I: An Astrophysical Explanation for the Wow! Signal (2024 preprint)

https://arxiv.org/abs/2408.08513

SETI Institute, The Wow! Signal: A Lingering Mystery or a Natural Phenomenon? (2025)

https://www.seti.org/news/the-wow-signal-a-lingering-mystery-or-a-natural-phenomenon/

Abel Mendez and colleagues, Arecibo Wow! II: Revised Properties of the Wow! Signal from Archival Ohio SETI Data (2025 preprint)

https://arxiv.org/abs/2508.10657

SETI Institute, Protocols for an ETI Signal Detection

https://www.seti.org/research/seti-101/protocols-for-an-eti-signal-detection/