The Arecibo Wow! (AWOW) is a technosignature research project using archived data from the Arecibo Observatory's 305-meter and 12-meter telescopes. The primary objective of this project is to identify and explain signals similar to the Wow! Signal detected in 1977 by the Ohio State University's Big Ear radio telescope.

Wow! Signal Likely Caused by Rare Astrophysical Event

Cold hydrogen clouds in the galaxy emit faint narrowband radio signals similar to those shown here, detected by the Arecibo Observatory in 2020. A sudden brightening of one of these clouds, triggered by a strong emission from another stellar source, may explain the Wow! Signal.

First Results of the Arecibo Wow! Project

Research Team

Abel Méndez, PHL @ UPR Arecibo
Kevin Ortiz Ceballos, Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian
Jorge I. Zuluaga, SEAP/FACom Institute of Physics, University of Antioquia

Stellar Maps in Equatorial and Galactic Coordinates

These star maps show the locations, in equatorial and galactic coordinates, of the stars with potentially habitable worlds. They also include the location of the Wow! Signal, the Arecibo Message, and the five stellar probes, Pioneers 10 and 11, Voragers 1 and 2, and New Horizons. These maps were created with tools and data from the PHL Habitable Worlds Catalog, NASA Exoplanet Archives, and D3-Celestial. Credit: PHL @ UPR Arecibo.