Properties of the Wow Signal
Properties of the Wow Signal
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LAST UPDATE: September 2026
This page summarizes the inferred properties of the Wow! Signal based on analyses conducted as part of the Arecibo Wow! Project. These properties represent the current interpretation of the available data and may be revised or further constrained as the project progresses and additional analyses are completed.
Introduction
Introduction
The Arecibo Wow! project have re-analyzed decades of previously unpublished observations, producing the most precise characterization yet of the “Wow! Signal”, and revealing new clues of its origin. The project is revisiting archival data from the Ohio State University SETI program, including records not examined in earlier analyses with modern techniques. New measurements refined the following properties:
Location: Two adjacent sky fields, centered at right ascensions 19h 25m 26s ± 5s or 19h 28m 18s ± 5s, and declination –26° 57′ ± 20′ (J2000). This position is more precise and slightly shifted from earlier estimates.
Intensity: A peak flux density exceeding 300 Janskys, more than four times higher than the previously believed lower value.
Frequency: 1420.726 MHz, in the hydrogen line but with a greater radial velocity than previously assumed.
These refinements might help explain why decades of follow-up observations have failed to find the Wow! Signals source. They don’t solve the mystery of the signal, but they give the clearest picture yet of its properties.
Table 1. Key properties of the Wow! Signal.
Figure 1. Original printout with the Wow! Signal. Note that there are some corrections to the right ascension coordinates on this page (explained in the 30th Anniversary Report). Figure 2 anf Table 1 show the corrected coordinates. Credit: Ohio History Connection.
Figure 2. Properties of the Wow! Signal. Profile of the Wow! Signal fitted with a simple Gaussian beam model. The fit provides estimates of the signal amplitude, sky position, and duration, among other properties. Credit: PHL @ UPR Arecibo.
Figure 3. Signal Location. This image displays radio sources in the region of the sky surrounding the Wow! Signal location. The boxes are shown for the two possible positions of the signal, corresponding to the positive and negative feed horns. Radio source data is taken from the NRAO VLA Sky Survey (NVSS). Credit: PHL @ UPR Arecibo.
Figure 4. The night sky at the time the Wow! Signal was detected. Credit: PHL @ UPR Arecibo / In-the-Sky.org.
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