The Wow! signal was a strong narrowband radio signal received on August 15, 1977, by Ohio State University 's Big Ear radio telescope in the United States, then used to support the search for extraterrestrial intelligence . The signal appeared to come from the direction of the constellation Sagittarius and bore the expected hallmarks of extraterrestrial origin. Astronomer Jerry R. Ehman discovered the anomaly a few days later while reviewing the recorded data. He was so impressed by the result that he circled the reading on the computer printout, 6EQUJ5, and wrote the comment Wow! on its side, leading to the event's widely used name. The reading was 6EQUJ5 in the computer print. The signal lasts for 72 second. Further, the signal was at a frequency of about 1,420 megahertz (MHz), also called the 21-centimter line. That's the same frequency as radio waves emitted by neutral hydrogen gas in ...