The following sections of this BookRags Literature Study Guide is offprint from Gale's For Students Series: Presenting Analysis, Context, and Criticism on Commonly Studied Works: Introduction, Author Biography, Plot Summary, Characters, Themes, Style, Historical Context, Critical Overview, Criticism and Critical Essays, Media Adaptations, Topics for Further Study, Compare & Contrast, What Do I Read Next?, For Further Study, and Sources.
(c)1998-2002; (c)2002 by Gale. Gale is an imprint of The Gale Group, Inc., a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. Gale and Design and Thomson Learning are trademarks used herein under license.
The following sections, if they exist, are offprint from Beacham's Encyclopedia of Popular Fiction: "Social Concerns", "Thematic Overview", "Techniques", "Literary Precedents", "Key Questions", "Related Titles", "Adaptations", "Related Web Sites". (c)1994-2005, by Walton Beacham.
The following sections, if they exist, are offprint from Beacham's Guide to Literature for Young Adults: "About the Author", "Overview", "Setting", "Literary Qualities", "Social Sensitivity", "Topics for Discussion", "Ideas for Reports and Papers". (c)1994-2005, by Walton Beacham.
All other sections in this Literature Study Guide are owned and copyrighted by BookRags, Inc.
Since radio astronomers first tuned into the skies, scientists have listened for an elusive radio signal that would confirm the existence of extraterrestrial life. One of the major efforts in the last quarter of the twentieth century was a project termed the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI). Over the years the SETI project evolved into a variety of programs utilizing research resources at a number of different facilities. A number of other programs have embraced at least part of the SETI concept and goals. As of May, 2002, only a fraction of the potential sources of radio signals have been thoroughly observed, and no signal definitively identified as extraterrestrial in origin.
Regardless, there have been a number of interesting possibilities. On August 15, 1977, astronomer Jerry Ehman was going through the computer printouts of an earlier SETI-like project run by Ohio State University (dubbed, "Big Ear"), when he discovered the reception of what remained throughout the twentieth century as the best candidate for a signal that might be classified as a sign of extraterrestrial intelligence. Excited, Ehman scribbled, "WOW!" on the printout and forever after the signal became known as the "WOW!" signal.
Despite repeated attempts to reacquire the signal, the fact that the signal was never again recorded makes many astronomers, including Ehman, skeptical about the origins of the "WOW!" signal. If it were an intentional signal, astronomers argue, the sending civilization would have repeated it—or something like it—many times. A number of SETI experts now assert the "WOW!" signal was, perhaps, a mere reflection of a signal from Earth off an orbiting satellite.