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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

#11

Post by partisan »

mellosouls wrote: post #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.

I found this article frustrating to read because of the lack of details, explanation, or attempts to educate the reader. Overall, it is just the reporting of speculation and nothing more.

That said, I wonder if this is the type of news source we need. Anyone who wants further details can and should research the topic before drawing conclusions like the pre-baked ones we usually receive from our news sources.

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

#12

Post by consp »

mabbo wrote: post #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 "an…

True, but he states in the paper:

> In this paper it is analysed which of the thousands of stars in the WOW! Signal region could have the highest chance of being the real source of the signal, providing that it came from a star system similar to ours.

And that hypothesis he answers. So maybe not the best science the hypothesis is stated and a possible answer is given with many 'but if's' attached to it.

pdf: https://arxiv.org/abs/2011.06090

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

#13

Post by smoyer »

"Located in the right part of the sky" ... even one degree of horizon represents a huge area and the researcher admits that there are other targets in the area. I'd argue that the premise that the signal comes from an earth-like planet isn't even scientifically valid. Who says other life-forms are most likely to form on in an earth-like environment? Isn't that currently a sample size of one? Does life need a planet to exist? What if the signal came from an alien interstellar space-craft?

The only way to provide further analysis for this signal is to find it again.

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

#14

Post by iso1210 »

valuearb wrote: post #8
yummybear wrote: post #4

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.

Simpsons is on Fox isn't it. It all makes sense now.

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

#15

Post by AnIdiotOnTheNet »

I think some posters here are missing that Caballero isn't trying to prove anything, they just made a few assumptions (if it was created by intelligent life, then...), looked for something that matched those assumptions, and selected a candidate star system for further consideration. I don't see anywhere that they are claiming this is in any way evidence for the assertion that the Wow! signal originated by intelligent life.

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

#18

Post by geocrasher »

And just three years ago somebody said with the same amount of confidence that it was a comet:

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

I think that if a person goes looking hard enough for the answer they want, they'll find it.

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

#19

Post by ordu »

AnIdiotOnTheNet wrote: post #15

I think some posters here are missing that Caballero isn't trying to prove anything, they just made a few assumptions (if it was created by intelligent life, then...), looked for something that matched those assumptions, and selected a candidate star system for further consideration. I don't see anywhere that they are claiming this is in any way evidence for the assertion that the Wow! signal originated by intelligen…

Yeah. It is a problem of allocating scarce resources: which exoplanets to study first? How could one answer, except using any probabilistic evidence here is. Anything resistant to explanation by 'mundane' phenomena but might be explained by an phenomenon Caballero is trying to find, is a good probabilistic evidence that could be used to narrow searching space.

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

#20

Post by garmaine »

JetSetWilly wrote: post #6
garmaine wrote: 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.

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

Someone who spent their entire life defending conjecture is going to find a reason to believe it still holds half a century later. But the evidence against is compelling to those not so invested in the outcome. There are weird aspects of the signal that are perfectly explained by it being hydrogen gas.

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