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No. 3: April 1978

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Radio Signals From The Stars

Curious signals have been picked up from 12 stars by the 300-foot radio telescope at Green Bank, WV. The signals took the form of strong bursts at a wavelength of 21 cm, one of the wave-lengths characteristic of the hydrogen molecule. Unfortunately, the signals were so short that their information content, if any, could not be recorded. Since the bursts were not repeated (except for a second burst from Barnard's Star), some natural phenomenon may be at work rather than intelligent communicators, who would presumably be more persistent. The peculiar signals, which have never been recorded before, were discovered as part of Project Ozma II, in which radio astronomers have been listening to 21-cm radio waves from hundreds of nearby stars.

(Anonymous; "Possible Messages from Space Reported," Baltimore Sun, January 29, 1978.)

From Science Frontiers #3, April 1978. � 1978-2000 William R. Corliss