Did we receive a signal from outer space in 1977?

Question

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In 1977, we received a signal from outer space, which lasted 72 seconds. We still do not know how or whence it came.

Did we receive such a signal in 1977?

http://skeptics.stackexchange.com/questions/1202/is-there-any-strong-evidence-of-alien-life — Sklivvz, May 14 '15 at 07:39
Yes, we received many signals from outer space in 1977, including from the Viking landers on Mars and the Voyager spacecraft on their way to Jupiter. — Mark Adler, May 14 '15 at 16:19
@MarkAdler as wells as many many more, for pulsars and stars and quasars and ... — Frames Catherine White, May 15 '15 at 00:08
It is the [small fact frog](http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/small-fact-frog) meme. — Remi.b, May 10 '16 at 14:29

score 49 · Accepted Answer · answered May 14 '15 at 04:09

49

Yes, there was a famous narrowband signal detected in 1977, which became known as the "Wow! signal". Whether it came from outer space is unknown.

The original astronomer wrote a 30th Anniversary Report on the signal in 2007, which covers a lot of the technical details.
Wikipedia adequately covers the topic.
Brian Dunning of the Skeptoid Podcast examined the evidence in 2012 to give a readable summary. In short, while its origins are unknown, and several conjectures have been rejected, there is no evidence that it came from aliens.

answered May 14 '15 at 04:09

Oddthinking

3

this wasn't the incident with the microwave? lol – Himarm May 14 '15 at 13:16
11

@Himarm: Nah, the [microwave oven](http://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-32598767) incident was more recent (past 17 years in Australia), but it illustrates the problem of jumping to conclusions about unknown signals. – Oddthinking May 14 '15 at 13:57
2

But if it did come from aliens, then they definitely look like blue frogs, right? – Steve Jessop May 15 '15 at 10:43

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