What was Project Ozma and which stars did it observe?

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artist's conception of Kepler-186f — extraterrestrial intelligence An artist's conception depicts Kepler-186f, the first Earth-sized extrasolar planet found in its star's habitable zone.

Project Ozma was a pioneering 1960 scientific attempt to detect radio signals from extraterrestrial intelligence. Led by Frank D. Drake, the project utilized a 26-meter radio telescope at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory in Green Bank, West Virginia, to monitor specific frequencies near the 21-cm hydrogen line, which was theorized to be a universal standard for interstellar communication.1

During its four-month operation, the project focused its observations on two nearby Sun-like stars:

Epsilon Eridani: Located approximately 11 light-years from Earth.1
Tau Ceti: Also located approximately 11 light-years from Earth.1

Despite 150 hours of intermittent observation, the project detected no recognizable signals from these stars. A subsequent, more extensive search known as Ozma II later monitored over 650 nearby stars between 1973 and 1976.1