A 39-year-old mystery – one possibly of the extra-terrestrial kind – is being reopened.

In August 15, 1977, a radio telescope called Big Ear in Ohio received a sudden and intense burst of waves that were most likely from a source near Sagittarius. Named the Wow signal, after astronomer Jerry Ehman’s reaction to it, the sound has never been heard again.

This has remained the best candidate for a signal of extra-terrestrial life ever received.

A few astronomers hope to find out the source of the signal in the next few years and (hopefully) probe the possibility of a life beyond our planet.

This is the latest episode of The Intersection, a fortnightly podcast on Audiomatic. For more such podcasts, visit audiomatic.in.