Friday, Jul 24, 2026 The claims desk. Receipts included. POWERED BY LENZ ↗
IsThis

SCIENCE

The Claim

In 1977, Earth received a signal from space that remained unexplained, and the signal lasted for 72 seconds.

Verified by Lenz ·

The Short Version

The statement accurately describes the 1977 Wow! signal in broad terms. Reliable institutional sources confirm it was detected in 1977, observed for 72 seconds, and has never been conclusively explained or reproduced. The main caveats are that 72 seconds reflects the Big Ear telescope’s scan window, and several natural explanations have been proposed without becoming accepted.

Caveats

  • The 72-second figure is the observed duration in Big Ear’s beam, not proof that the source itself emitted for exactly 72 seconds.
  • "Unexplained" is broadly fair, but not because no explanations exist; several natural hypotheses have been proposed and remain unconfirmed.
  • The signal was never detected again, which is a major reason its origin remains unresolved.

The Receipts

  1. The Wow Signal

    SETI Institute

  2. The Wow! Signal: A Lingering Mystery or a Natural Phenomenon?

    SETI Institute

  3. The 6EQUJ5 Wow! Signal

    NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day

  4. Have astronomers finally found the true cause of the Wow! signal?

    BBC Sky at Night Magazine

  5. Did Ohio State really detect an alien signal?

    Ohio State University College of Arts and Sciences

  6. The Wow! signal 40 years on: Still no aliens, but now we’ve got cigars

    New Scientist

  7. The Wow! Signal

    Houston Astronomical Society

  8. The Wow! Signal: A Mystery from Deep Space

    YouTube

  9. We Were Wrong About the Wow! Signal - It Was Even More Bizarre

    YouTube

  10. The Wow Signal Potentially Explained ... and it's Weird

    YouTube

Filed Under

Wow! Signal