Radio, The Big Ear, And The Wow! Signal . ... Credit Copyright: Rick Scott Explanation: Since the early days of radio and television we have been freely broadcasting signals into space. ... Ohio State University's radio telescope, affectionately known as "The Big Ear" , was one of the first and largest listeners. ... Starting in 1965, the Big Ear was used in an ambitious premier survey of the radio sky , ultimately finding over 20,000 celestial radio sources . ... NASA Official: Jay Norris. ...