Mankind has always been fascinated by the possibility of life beyond Earth, the idea of other civilizations thriving on distant planets captivates the imagination we are driven perhaps by the hope that humanity is not alone in the universe and by science’s promise to always seek the unknown.
On August 15th, 1977 a massive radio telescope operated by the Ohio state university detected an unusually powerful signal from deep space the signal had all the characteristics scientists expected in a transmission from an intelligent extraterrestrial source. The event lasted for 72 seconds and was never heard again named the Wow Signal it was a tantalizing moment in the search for extraterrestrial life and for the relatively young science of radio astronomy.
Directed by: Bob Dawson
This could easily have been a three hour documentary because there’s so much to this particular story and the field of SETI research, and I’m only talking about those topics the general public would understand.
Although I’m not a scientist or engineer, I’ve done a fair bit of research about SETI, and I’ve had email discussions with radio astronomers, including Dr. Shostak, so I think my comments will carry some amount of weight.
The WOW! Signal’s frequency was almost exactly 1,420 MHz. This is the vibrational frequency of hydrogen (H), the most common element in the universe. That makes that frequency a logical place for beings, unaware of each other’s existence, to send a signal. There’s a fairly quiet range of radio frequencies that begin at 1,420 MHz and ends at 1,662 MHz, which is the vibrational frequency of hydroxyl (HO – hydrogen and oxygen). Coincidentally, H and OH combined make water, and so this quiet spectrum has been dubbed the Water Hole. It’s especially appropriate because animals of different species here on Earth all gather at water holes to drink, so this Water Hole is a natural range of frequencies for signals meant for other civilizations to detect.
What’s eventually detected, if it happens, may be ordinary radio communications rather than intentional signals transmitted specifically to be detected by other civilizations. Those radio communications, like TV, would likely be too weak for us to detect from a great distance.
There was a project running up until a few years ago called SETI@Home, in which ordinary computer users could volunteer to help. The users could download special software which would then communicate with a server storing huge amounts of radio telescope data. The software would then analyze it in the background, looking for telltale patterns. I ran the software on three computers. The resulting data would be uploaded to the server, and another data file would be downloaded for processing. Interesting signals would be looked at more closely by professionals. So much data was processed by volunteers that that aspect of the project was shut down. To date there have been no confirmed signals.
It was mentioned in the documentary that blasting out powerful radio signals is very energy-intensive. A new concept has been developed (I don’t know if any projects are actually collecting data for it). That is OSETI, or Optical Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence. With this, civilizations that want to broadcast an “Hello, we exist” message, could possibly choose to blast out powerful beams of infrared laser energy, bursts so short they’re measured in tiny fractions of a second. Shorter bursts allows them to be more powerful. Of course this is a very directional way to send a signal, unlike radio which spreads as it travels away from the antenna, so they’d just about have to aim right at us. Infrared would be used because it’s better at passing through interstellar dust and gas.
Why haven’t we found evidence yet? There are several possible reasons:
1. Civilizations advanced enough to send signals may be so far away that they haven’t reached us yet.
2. Signals that have been sent could be too weak for us to pick up.
3. We may have missed short duration signals.
4. Maybe no civilizations are advanced enough to send signals.
5. Maybe we’ve received signals but didn’t recognize them as such. (And related, there’s still no scientific consensus about what intelligence is or what life is. There could be life we don’t recognize as being alive; research “desert varnish.” It’s been proven not to be life on Earth, but that was strongly considered for awhile.)
6. Advanced civilizations may never have developed radio technology, instead using lasers or ordinary light to communicate.
7. Maybe other civilizations don’t want to be found and so they’ve decided not to send detectable signals.
8. Maybe it’s common for civilizations, once they’re advanced enough to send signals, to self-destruct, maybe through war or pollution. Without getting too political, that’s kind of what’s happening here on Earth.
9. Maybe there are no other civilizations. Believe it or not, there are some pretty strong scientific arguments to suggest this could be the case. Frank Drake’s equation is great, but it was never intended to actually calculate how many civilizations there are, but rather to be a starting point for discussion. There are plenty of potential threats that would prevent intelligent life, or life of any kind, to develop – extreme volcanic activity, lack of a protective planetary magnetic field to deflect radiation from their stars, toxic fumes on the planets that interfere with the creation of life. I will say that the odds are still pretty high for there to be intelligent life, but the odds aren’t as high as some might think.
Some people wonder what would happen if intelligent extraterrestrial life was found. Scientists generally believe the public would be excited for a little while before quickly moving on to other things. There have been some false alarms. Dr. Shostak mentioned one that was prematurely reported on by a newspaper. Nobody panicked. The Vatican even admits that extraterrestrial life may exist; it’s not counter to their teachings. The Vatican operates its own advanced astronomy observatories. So think of how you’d react to the news, and that’s likely how much of humanity would react. I personally hope we do find intelligent life, hopefully while I’m still around to hear of it.
Parallel to the gripping story of the WOW signal itself, this is a superb documentary about how science gets done. Choice of methods, creative exploitation of means, how objectives and trade-offs go hand in hand, and how the availability of resources can shift at any time. Highly recommended.
Well of course theres more than just us in this massive universe!
🔭
Just one of the many things I discovered and was shown during two NDE’s*, numerous lucid dreams^, heightened intuition, spiritual awareness and all the life changing epiphanies that followed, is that while we are the only “humans” – we are not the only living species. In fact, there are many. And just like us, some are good, others….uh,
not so good.
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Our purpose here on Earth (in this dimension) is absolutely spiritual. After death we immediately have a life review (“I saw my entire life flash before my eyes” origins) and reflect on our actions. Then depending on the goals remaining- WE choose where we go next.
When it comes to understanding and approaching these types of questions – the best, and easiest way to approach simply.
It needn’t be so complicated!
(And although we each have free will, it often has to do with a matter of timing.)
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Start by looking up the numbers of reported sightings and all over the world that grows daily. Read through the evidence – from the tangible to the eye witness events.
Interview those who had contact and/or observed interactions. There are hundreds of books, PDF’s and videos all about their communication.
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Then there’s the deep transcendental meditation people have been doing recently where they swear they initiate contact with them. (The ones with good intentions – I don’t know much about them, I’ve only seen snippets in the news, but telepathy is the preferred method of communicating, thats how it was during both NDE’s and in dream states)
The more people together in a group, the higher the vibration which leads to a stronger connection and more likely to “reach them”.
There are rapidly expanding worldwide and new groups popping up all over.
*Nearly all research on NDE’s found the majority shared very similar out of body experiences, with the largest study reporting they’d encountered or felt “a powerful divine presence” were in “the realm of Angels” with many seeing loved ones who had passed.
^ To be fully awake in dreams is SO cool! I’d have them every night if I could, but unfortunately they’ve been random. Our souls don’t actually require sleep, just our physical bodies, so our soul “travels” to various places – yet need to remain in our bodies for a short time while we’re asleep. And although all souls dream, only a small percentage recall them, and an even smaller percent dream in color. (Mine are almost always in vivid color)
The majority are in black and white.
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Chills! The Wow Signal just never gets old. That 72-second blip of potential alien communication still ignites my inner sci-fi geek years later. It’s a concrete reminder that the universe is vast and the unknown out there is vast beyond comprehension. a small world cup‘s addictive gameplay and endless replayability will keep you coming back for more.
The univers may be full of intelligent races,but they must forever exist in total ignrance of each other,quarantined by space itself
Long term space travel can only be done without people’s earth suits. Once release (death) we travel through the Universe to our origins.
True.
Wonderful honest documentary by the best peoiple in the game. Good luck SETI.
Very boring documentary about the history and the state as SETI, the central focus being as the name suggests a signal from 1977 that lasted for 72 seconds. I’d say unless you’re obsessed over the science research industry you should skip this one.
A total waste of time.
sounds like a large-scale money-laundering operation to me – the perfect blag
One of the best documentaries talking about our quest to find the alien civilizations and not only that this documentary discuss about the radio telescopes in a big way.
there are sing the all firm maka into the good to the poeple atitude of action world at my good to plan the firm maker ..how the finallist of the game of serch into playing the sets of firm plan into the good addition play at good to the good hoppe true what is power of this good life stand for behavious of life echievinment of good …
You put the lime in the coconut, drink it all up.
😂
Lol…
wtf ?
Toddle A.I. !