KIC 8462852 aka Tabby's Star aka Boyajian's star is an F-Type main-sequence star located at a distance of approximately 1,470 light-years away from earth.
Unusual light fluctuations of the star, including up to a 22% dimming in brightness, were discovered by citizen scientists as part of the Planet Hunters project. In September 2015, astronomers and citizen scientists associated with the project posted a preprint of an article describing the data and possible interpretations.
Several hypotheses have been proposed to explain the star's large irregular changes in brightness as measured by its light curve, but none to date fully explain all aspects of the curve. One explanation is that an "uneven ring of dust" orbits Tabby’s Star
In another explanation, the star's luminosity is modulated by changes in the efficiency of heat transport to its photosphere, so no external obscuration is required.
There are many more theories like these about the Tabby's Star but the most bizarre theory is that an alien megastructure is responsible for the light anomalies. A new study searching for signs of extraterrestrials has not turned up any evidence to back up that theory. Such an alien civilization, capable of building a starlight-blocking megastructure, would possibly communicate using lasers.
Backing up a bit, remember that Tabby’s Star was discovered in data from the Kepler space telescope and shows the most unusual “dimming” of a star ever observed. From time to time, the light from this star is blocked by some enormous quantity of material moving between the star and our telescopes. But this material is unexpectedly cold and does not give off the infrared radiation expected if it were orbiting the star in a relatively close orbit. This mysterious material is too big and too cold to be explained by a typical orbiting planet, and some scientists have wondered if we could instead be observing a giant structure built by an advanced civilization. For example, a huge megastructure is just what you would need to capture an enormous quantity of stellar energy to power massive engineering projects. Even more interesting, the timing of the present dip suggests that whatever this material is, it is situated at just the right distance from the star to be in the “habitable zone,” where we believe that life-like ours could develop as it has on Earth.
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Unusual light fluctuations of the star, including up to a 22% dimming in brightness, were discovered by citizen scientists as part of the Planet Hunters project. In September 2015, astronomers and citizen scientists associated with the project posted a preprint of an article describing the data and possible interpretations.
Several hypotheses have been proposed to explain the star's large irregular changes in brightness as measured by its light curve, but none to date fully explain all aspects of the curve. One explanation is that an "uneven ring of dust" orbits Tabby’s Star
In another explanation, the star's luminosity is modulated by changes in the efficiency of heat transport to its photosphere, so no external obscuration is required.
There are many more theories like these about the Tabby's Star but the most bizarre theory is that an alien megastructure is responsible for the light anomalies. A new study searching for signs of extraterrestrials has not turned up any evidence to back up that theory. Such an alien civilization, capable of building a starlight-blocking megastructure, would possibly communicate using lasers.
Backing up a bit, remember that Tabby’s Star was discovered in data from the Kepler space telescope and shows the most unusual “dimming” of a star ever observed. From time to time, the light from this star is blocked by some enormous quantity of material moving between the star and our telescopes. But this material is unexpectedly cold and does not give off the infrared radiation expected if it were orbiting the star in a relatively close orbit. This mysterious material is too big and too cold to be explained by a typical orbiting planet, and some scientists have wondered if we could instead be observing a giant structure built by an advanced civilization. For example, a huge megastructure is just what you would need to capture an enormous quantity of stellar energy to power massive engineering projects. Even more interesting, the timing of the present dip suggests that whatever this material is, it is situated at just the right distance from the star to be in the “habitable zone,” where we believe that life-like ours could develop as it has on Earth.
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Follow Our Instagram For Such Nice Posts click here.
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