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The Big Ear was a radio telescope
Radio telescope

A radio telescope is a form of Directional antennae radio Antenna used in radio astronomy and in tracking and collecting data from satellites and space probes....
 located on the grounds of the Ohio Wesleyan University
Ohio Wesleyan University

Ohio Wesleyan University is a private university Liberal arts colleges in the United States in Delaware, Ohio, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1842 by Methodist leaders and Ohio Valley residents as a nonsectarian institution, and is a member of the Five Colleges of Ohio ? a consortium of Ohio liberal arts colleges....
's The Perkins Observatory
Perkins Observatory

Perkins Observatory is an astronomical observatory in Delaware, Ohio. It is owned and operated by Ohio Wesleyan University....
 from 1963 to 1998. It was part of The Ohio State University
Ohio State University

The Ohio State University is a public university research university in the state of Ohio. It was founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the List of largest United States universities by enrollment in the United States....
's Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI)
SETI

Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence is the collective name for a number of activities to detect intelligent extraterrestrial life. The general approach of SETI projects is to survey the sky to detect the existence of interstellar communication from a civilization on a distant planet ? an approach widely endorsed by the scientific...
 project. The design of Big Ear is known as Kraus-type
Kraus-type

The Kraus-type radio telescope design was created by Dr. John D. Kraus .Kraus-type telescopes are transit instruments, where the flat primary mirror reflects radio light towards the spherical secondary mirror, which focuses it towards a mobile focal carriage....
, after Dr. John D. Kraus (1910-2004), and is also used at the Nançay Radio Telescope
Nançay Radio Telescope

The Nan?ay Decimetric Radio Telescope is located in the small town of Nan?ay, France, two hours' drive south of Paris, France. The radio telescope saw first light in 1965, after an inauguration by the then President of France, Charles de Gaulle....
.

The Big Ear completed its first sky survey for extraterrestrial radio sources, the Ohio Sky Survey
Ohio Sky Survey

The Ohio Sky Survey was an astronomical survey of extragalactic radio sources. Data were taken between 1965 and 1971 using the Big Ear radio telescope at the Ohio State University , also known as the "Big Ear Radio Observatory "....
, in the early 1970s. On August 15, 1977, the Big Ear recorded its greatest success when an interesting radio signal was received from the portion of the sky that the telescope was aimed at.






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The Big Ear was a radio telescope
Radio telescope

A radio telescope is a form of Directional antennae radio Antenna used in radio astronomy and in tracking and collecting data from satellites and space probes....
 located on the grounds of the Ohio Wesleyan University
Ohio Wesleyan University

Ohio Wesleyan University is a private university Liberal arts colleges in the United States in Delaware, Ohio, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1842 by Methodist leaders and Ohio Valley residents as a nonsectarian institution, and is a member of the Five Colleges of Ohio ? a consortium of Ohio liberal arts colleges....
's The Perkins Observatory
Perkins Observatory

Perkins Observatory is an astronomical observatory in Delaware, Ohio. It is owned and operated by Ohio Wesleyan University....
 from 1963 to 1998. It was part of The Ohio State University
Ohio State University

The Ohio State University is a public university research university in the state of Ohio. It was founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the List of largest United States universities by enrollment in the United States....
's Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI)
SETI

Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence is the collective name for a number of activities to detect intelligent extraterrestrial life. The general approach of SETI projects is to survey the sky to detect the existence of interstellar communication from a civilization on a distant planet ? an approach widely endorsed by the scientific...
 project. The design of Big Ear is known as Kraus-type
Kraus-type

The Kraus-type radio telescope design was created by Dr. John D. Kraus .Kraus-type telescopes are transit instruments, where the flat primary mirror reflects radio light towards the spherical secondary mirror, which focuses it towards a mobile focal carriage....
, after Dr. John D. Kraus (1910-2004), and is also used at the Nançay Radio Telescope
Nançay Radio Telescope

The Nan?ay Decimetric Radio Telescope is located in the small town of Nan?ay, France, two hours' drive south of Paris, France. The radio telescope saw first light in 1965, after an inauguration by the then President of France, Charles de Gaulle....
.

The Big Ear completed its first sky survey for extraterrestrial radio sources, the Ohio Sky Survey
Ohio Sky Survey

The Ohio Sky Survey was an astronomical survey of extragalactic radio sources. Data were taken between 1965 and 1971 using the Big Ear radio telescope at the Ohio State University , also known as the "Big Ear Radio Observatory "....
, in the early 1970s. On August 15, 1977, the Big Ear recorded its greatest success when an interesting radio signal was received from the portion of the sky that the telescope was aimed at. This event, chronicled in text books and well known in astronomical circles, is known as "The WOW!" signal
Wow! signal

The Wow! signal was a strong, narrowband radio frequency signal detected by Dr. Jerry R. Ehman on August 15, 1977, while working on a SETI project at the The Big Ear radio telescope of the Ohio State University....
, so named for the notation made by a volunteer at the site on the date of the event. No other such signal was recorded.

The Big Ear was noted in the 1995 Guinness Book of World Records as being the Radio Telescope that had worked on the SETI project for the longest period of time.

The radio telescope was disassembled in 1998 when developers purchased the site from the university, and used the land to expand a nearby golf course
Golf

Golf is a sport in which players using many types of Golf club including wood , iron , and putter , attempt to hit golf ball into each hole on a golf course in the lowest possible number of strokes....
.

The Big Ear was parodied in bestselling game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is a Nonlinear gameplay action-adventure game computer game and video game developed by Rockstar North. It is the third 3D computer graphics game in the Grand Theft Auto video game franchise and fifth original game overall....
 by the presence of a large radio telescope of the same name in the desert region. It is also mentioned in an episode of the X-Files, as a tool used to detect alien radio signals.

External links

  • Video presentation and tour of "Big Ear": , ,