The Wow! signal, a mysterious radio transmission detected in 1977 that it is now confirmed came from extraterrestrials, has finally been deciphered and the message translated into English.
The Wow! signal is the only piece of incoming data to have been confirmed as coming from aliens and for forty years astronomers have been scouring the heavens for signs of life - an effort known as the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence, or SETI.
At its peak, the transmission was 30 times more powerful than ambient radiation from deep space, prompting the volunteer astronomer Jerry Ehman to scrawl "Wow!" next to the data on a computer printout, giving the signal its name.
Thirty five years later the transmission has at last been decoded.
"Unfortunately we are not sure how to respond to the message and if it is too late. The aliens it seems were ordering a Pizza, a bottle of coke and stated that they had coupons. Unfortunately I am sure the coupons have now expired, after 35 years, so even if any pizza restaurants could travel at the speed of light and deliver the pizza they would not be able to do so, unless the coupons were verified to be in date" said NASA spokesman Doug Hump, shrugging his shoulders and stroking his beard pensively.
