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Amateur astronomer Alberto Caballero finds possible source of Wow signal

phys.org

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Re: Amateur astronomer Alberto Caballero finds possible source of Wow signal

#3
post #2

Wow signal has been pretty conclusively shown to be the reflected spectra of hydrogen out gassing from a comet core. The actual comet in question has been found and similar signals detected. OP didn’t get the memo I guess.

Amusingly phys.org has that from June 7, 2017:

https://phys.org/news/2017-06-wow-mystery-space.html

Re: Amateur astronomer Alberto Caballero finds possible source of Wow signal

#5
post #3
post #2

Wow signal has been pretty conclusively shown to be the reflected spectra of hydrogen out gassing from a comet core. The actual comet in question has been found and similar signals detected. OP didn’t get the memo I guess.

Amusingly phys.org has that from June 7, 2017: https://phys.org/news/2017-06-wow-mystery-space.html

Wow! (No pun intended) That is a serious lack of editorial review for a physics news source. It's basically a retraction of a factual article with speculation.

Re: Amateur astronomer Alberto Caballero finds possible source of Wow signal

#6
post #2

Wow signal has been pretty conclusively shown to be the reflected spectra of hydrogen out gassing from a comet core. The actual comet in question has been found and similar signals detected. OP didn’t get the memo I guess.

Wikipedia states:

> This hypothesis was dismissed by astronomers, including members of the original Big Ear research team, as the cited comets were not in the beam at the correct time. Furthermore, comets do not emit strongly at the frequencies involved, and there is no explanation for why a comet would be observed in one beam but not in the other

So, not actually conclusively shown at all.

Re: Amateur astronomer Alberto Caballero finds possible source of Wow signal

#7
I've only read the article and not the research but that's because the article says the argument is simply:

1. The Wow! signal is intelligent in origin.

2. This exoplanet system here is in an area the signal might have come from.

3. It looks a bit like our system so might have intelligent life.

This sounds like more of a moonshot for believers rather than a thoroughly scientific investigation.

Re: Amateur astronomer Alberto Caballero finds possible source of Wow signal

#8

That seems like awfully weak evidence, if you could even call it that.

Judge: Mr. Hutz We’ve been in here for four hours. Do you have any evidence at all?

Hutz: Well, Your Honor. We’ve plenty of hearsay and conjecture. Those are KINDS of evidence.

Re: Amateur astronomer Alberto Caballero finds possible source of Wow signal

#10
This isn't good science.

Caballero went looking for a specific answer- a planet in the right place in the sky, with the right conditions- and found it. Therefore, this is proof the signal came from ET intelligence, right? But in science you should be going the opposite direction- start with the data and see what answer it leads to.

What's more, there's a big region of space the signal could have come from. Saying "any planet in that cone is the answer" isn't fair. There's just as likely to be thousands or millions more planets with equal properties further away inside the same cone.

A more fair experiment would be to say "ignoring the specific direction the 'Wow' signal came from, predict where it should have come from given the data we have"- and then if you find an answer that aligns with the source of the 'Wow', then you're onto something.

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