Ohio State University Radio Observatory - Big Ear

Big Ear

From 1965–1971, the Big Ear was used to map wideband radio sources for the Ohio Sky Survey, its first sky survey for extraterrestrial radio sources. In 1972, the United States Congress voted to stop funding the Ohio Sky Survey with support from the National Science Foundation. Many people lost their jobs.

On August 15, 1977, the Big Ear recorded its greatest success when an interesting radio signal known as the Wow! signal was received, named for the notation made by American astronomer Jerry R. Ehman. No other such signal was recorded.

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