# Wow! signal was probably just a comet **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 9, 2017, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-signal-was-probably-just-a-comet/788473 "2017-06-09T02:32:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2017, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-signal-was-probably-just-a-comet/788473/1 "2017-06-09T02:32:44Z")
That is disappointing. > **[Wow! mystery signal from space finally explained](https://phys.org/news/2017-06-wow-mystery-space.html)** > > (Phys.org)—A team of researchers with the Center of Planetary Science (CPS) has finally solved the mystery of the "Wow!" signal from 1977. It was a comet, they report, one that that was unknown at the time of the signal discovery. Lead researcher... > [@](#): > > The team noted that two comets had been in the same part of the sky that the Big Ear was monitoring on the fateful day. Those comets, P/2008 Y2(Gibbs) and 266/P Christensen had not yet been discovered. The team then got a chance to test their idea as the two comets appeared once again in the night sky from November 2016 through February of 2017. > > The team reports that radio signals from 266/P Christensen matched those from the Wow! signal 40 years ago. To verify their results, they tested readings from three other comets, as well, and found similar results. The researchers acknowledge that they cannot say with certainty that the Wow! signal was generated by 266/P Christensen, but they can say with relative assurance that it was generated by a comet. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2017, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-signal-was-probably-just-a-comet/788473/2 "2017-06-09T02:33:57Z")
That’s what they want you to believe. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2017, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-signal-was-probably-just-a-comet/788473/3 "2017-06-09T03:34:55Z")
The biggest question is why comets are broadcasting horrible poetry stations that are hard to decode. I may just have to go and find the aliens my owned damned self. The are out there somewhere. They are probably just broadcasting on something like Channel 2 or AM 1628 that nobody cares about. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2017, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-signal-was-probably-just-a-comet/788473/4 "2017-06-09T04:11:20Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > The biggest question is why comets are broadcasting horrible poetry stations that are hard to decode. Vogons? ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2017, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-signal-was-probably-just-a-comet/788473/5 "2017-06-09T04:20:54Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > Vogons? Those are the prime suspects. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2017, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-signal-was-probably-just-a-comet/788473/6 "2017-06-09T07:07:43Z")
Masaka is waking ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2017, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-signal-was-probably-just-a-comet/788473/7 "2017-06-09T13:03:13Z")
[Existing thread.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=827880) ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2017, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-signal-was-probably-just-a-comet/788473/8 "2017-06-09T14:19:21Z")
I’m worried the comet people will attack and take back their cleanser. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2017, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-signal-was-probably-just-a-comet/788473/9 "2017-06-09T14:41:25Z")
That’s okay–there is still the “gosh” signal and the “gee, whiz” signal. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2017, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-signal-was-probably-just-a-comet/788473/10 "2017-06-09T20:00:59Z")
So the aliens were inside the comets? ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2017, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-signal-was-probably-just-a-comet/788473/11 "2017-06-09T20:33:25Z")
> [@Quimby](#): > > So the aliens were inside the comets? The Heaven’s Gate people were right all along! ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2017, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-signal-was-probably-just-a-comet/788473/12 "2017-06-10T13:53:46Z")
> [@Quimby](#): > > So the aliens were inside the comets? I believe Q was imprisoned in there.