Has the mystery of the "Wow!" signal finally been solved?

You know that enigmatic signal that astronomers have been talking about the last forty years or so known as the Wow signal? Well, prepare yourselves for we have something rather riveting to say about it.

To those who have no idea as per what it is, the Wow signal was a radio sound identified in 1977 by an astronomer when working at the Big Ear radio telescope in Ohio. The signal was such a one and so intense that the man treated ‘Wow’ in the margin of the data printout and the name has remained on record ever since.

But why the Wow signal? Well, for one thing, it was never pinned down again; this was a capability bar none to perform in the context of a surveillance state of the opponents. Astronomers continue to aim their telescopes at that area of the sky multiple times throughout the years and the signal has not repeated itself once again. It was as unique as a one-hit wonder with regard to the universe.

That is why, for many years now, the scientists have been struggling to find out the meaning of the wow signal. Did the extraterrestrial broadcast a new television show, or is this just interference, an audio quirk of a terrestrial civilization?

Many years ago there was a research that pointed out that Wow signal was produced due to a comet namely 266P/Christensen. It was passing through that same region of space in 1977 and its hydrogen might have released a radio signal that was exactly the same frequency as the Wow signal. Specialists then countered this information by denying that comets produce such radio waves at all.

The second theory about the Wow signal was that this signal may have originated from a sunlike star. This was based on the proposition that the signal was genuine and this was not a sign that indicated that there were little green beings roaming space. This star is in the constellation known as Sagittarius with a distance of 1800 light years. Now, this distance may seem a great distance away but in the cosmological perspective of space, it is the neighbor next door. It was something promising, because it had some interesting features, too. It was in the same class as our sun in as much as the temperatures, the luminosities and the sizes were concerned. Unfortunately, after getting a little deeper understanding of this sun-twin star, scientists were unable to locate the Wow signal to it beyond a doubt. There could be other stars in the same region that could have produced the signal; we merely do not understand it.

Thus, what did it leave for the search for life Beyond the Earth within the Wow signal? Well, what it means is that the status for the most part has gone back to base. Unfortunately, to this day no one knows what generated the Wow signal, and therefore it is debatable whether the source of the signal was an intelligent civilization or a simple natural occurrence.

Another way through which astronomers are trying to look for intelligent life in the universe is through what is referred to as technosignatures. These are technologies that leave some trace that emanates from space and could show evidence of extra-terrestrial civilization that we can see is active but which can easily be put down to natural occurrences. Specific examples include Laser emission, radiowave signal or even the mere evidence for megastructures.

The outer space playlist of today does not culminate in the Wow signal. Prepare to boogie down for we are going to embark on a musical journey of a lifetime; a voyage of discovering black holes and the funky tunes they do make.

Having said that, you may be curious, do black holes produce sound? Well, it seems that they do and it is almost like a celestial orchestra.

It is important to define what a black hole is first of all. It is the region beyond which objects in space are so heavily attracted to one another that even light cannot burst free. This can best be described as a console that pulls data from devices in the way a vacuum cleaner sucks dust off the floor. Black holes don’t shine and thus cannot be seen, but a black hole can radiate the darkest of all attitudes. Astronomers have been researching these vibes or sounds for years employing distinctive instruments to capture them into space music.

Thus, one must ask, what roars and rumbles a black hole? As for me, if I were to describe it, I’d say it is somewhat similar to bass guitar with the undertone of somebody burping. Weird, I know. This sound actually comes from the gases and dus that are in turn orbiting around the black hole. This way the material is sucked in it heats up and gives out x-rays radiation that can be measured by our instruments. These x-rays are analogous to the notes in a melody and they can give information abou what is happening within as well as outside the black hole.

But here's the craziest part: what scientists have discovered is that black holes have its own ‘song.’ It as if they have a personal track for the universe, sort of like having their own personalized DJ for the universe to dance to. Thus, during the study of colliding black holes, scientists have realized that some of them are as calm as lambs and others are more like crazy DJs, they perform beats inside your head.

Who knows? Perhaps one day we will find a way to harness that outer space rhythm to generate energy for our interstellar vehicles. If transforming sound waves into electricity is possible on earth, then why is it impossible in space, journalists.

The bachelor bloop sound confused scientists for years too but that one originated from a different part of the world and a rather different origin –from the depths of the sea within the planet Earth. Picture this: there you are, relaxing on your couch, just being a regular person, and then you turn on your stereo, and all of the sudden you hear a loud spooky noise. Well, that’s sort of what happened to a group of scientists who , in 1997, came across the now famous bloop sound.

Now, I know what you're thinking: bloop, that’s not very scary is it? But let me tell you, this sound was no joke. This was a low pitched continual sound with a duration of approximately one minute and was recorded by hydrophones approximately 2400 km apart. Of course, the two scientists or whatever they were, said to each other, What in the world is causing this sound?

Skip forward a few years and the World Wide Web practically quivers with theories on what might have caused the bloop. The giant speculations involved some people making it that of a sea creature, while others assumed it to be some sort of spacecraft belonging to an alien civilization that existed beneath the sea. Of course, there are also those who thought that it was just a failure in the recorder that was used in recording that scene. Still, for years, the source of the bloop was unknown and all sorts of speculation could be heard.

However, the researches studying this issue manage to unveil what causes the eerie noise in 2005. Just as the elders go a step further of warning one to never underestimate anything, they said it was just an iceberg worth illuminating. For when icebergs calve off glaciers and drift in the ocean, they can emit quite odd sounds which is what the bloop was: an iceberg straining and moving around.

Even if I have given the reason for the bloop it still remains rather riveting. Indeed, it is incredible that a sound like that can go through thousand of miles and still be heard. Furthermore, when scientists could not even determine the cause of the disaster for years it only proves once again that there is still a lot to learn about the Earth.

Every playlist must, of course, include some slow heartbreaking songs. Well, talking about that, do you know the story of the ‘world’s loneliest whale?’ It is interesting beginning that traces back as far as 1989 when American specialists were searching for submarines. However, instead of submarines, they find a whale with a pitch of voice that is the highest in the world which is why it became the subject of the loneliest whale.

Before answering this priceless question it is very important to know some information about this wandered animal: Why is the loneliest whale also known as the ‘135’? Oh, Blue whales range from 10-40 hertz most of the times but this whale was singing at 52 hertz, which to human ears is a low bass note. Due to the fact that it has a different voice than other blue whales, some people think this whale was unable to communicate with some other whales. Based on this it is also suggested that this may be a hybrid whale where one of the parents was from a different whale type. This may alter the body shape and alter the call, and this may perhaps be the reason why it has a distinct voice.

The recent studies have shown that there may be other lonely whale out there and this whale is not really lonely. In many cases, peculiar whale calls have been identified and according to some works, the group of whales residing in certain areas has a specific pattern of songs, which generally varies in pitch. Adding to the plot, more recent recordings have discovered that the loneliest whale is no longer singing the same song. For several years now the whales’ call has been getting deeper. Perhaps it is not lonely after all and has some whale friends that it can have fun with.

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