Another new explanation for Tabby's Star

Here we go again. The dips in brightness monitored over the last few years now have yet another bout of speculation...

Experts have now come up with another explanation that doesn't involve extraterrestrial technology, but rather a massive ringed planet some five times the size of Jupiter.

Astronomers from the University of Valencia say other dips in light that scientists have recorded since could be caused by trailing asteroids and another dip should be observed in the year 2021. There are problems with how the model scales [it's all Greek to the uneducated me] and the theory has not yet been peer reviewed.

Full article at Science Alert

But, we do love a good mystery here on ATS.

That would make sense, depending on the orientation and composition of the rings of course. I find the whole Dyson Sphere thing highly unlikely for several reasons but it is not impossible. Maybe Tabby's Star is a sort of fuel depot for the Galactic Federation.

a reply to: Illumimasontruth

The Dyson Sphere is an intriguing prospect but virtually impossible to prove, whereas the the explanation we eventually go with will have to be the one that science can reasonably accept without involving an alien civilisation.

Doesn't mean we have to accept it, though.

This 'giant planet' hypothesis requires that one of the largest dips in the star's light be caused by a planet 30 percent as large as the star. That's far larger than any planet we believe can exist. Any body in space of such dimensions would fuse hydrogen at its core, and therefore be a star. If such a second star existed near KIC 8462852, we should have seen it by now. We haven't

A Dyson sphere, or more likely in this case, a partial Dyson sphere, is a testable hypothesis. For example-- If the detailed analysis of the new, May 19th dip shows certain characteristics in its spectrum, the conclusion would have to be that it was caused by a solid object. A solid object that can block out even 2 percent of a star's light is too large to be a planet. The most reasonable explanation at that point would be a thin, artificial structure between us and the star.

If it's some sort of Dyson structure we are seeing it as it was 1300 years ago. Meaning that the civilization could have advanced a thousand years past what we currently see.
......keeping my fingers crossed for a structure.

originally posted by: Illumimasontruth
. Maybe Tabby's Star is a sort of fuel depot for the Galactic Federation.

Or Junkyard.

Or flea market, and the dimming is caused by all of the vendors and customers occasionally coming together every once in a awhile.

a reply to: Soylent Green Is People

Lol! We have so much to learn. I'm betting there is a sound scientific explanation and we will learn somehing cool out of this star eventually. But even our brightest are scratching their heads. That makes it more fun to entertain any plausible ideas.
We have a ton to learn about planets still too, so I'm in the minority who will not rule out the gigantic ringed planet theory yet.
I do hope we get our answer soon. I've learned at a young age to stay humble, not my favorite flavor of pie to eat. And things are often not what they seem.

originally posted by: SolAquarius
If it's some sort of Dyson structure we are seeing it as it was 1300 years ago. Meaning that the civilization could have advanced a thousand years past what we currently see.
......keeping my fingers crossed for a structure.

Yes, since the star is apparently fading gradually in brightness, on top of the intermittent dips, it could be wholly covered up by now. This would only become apparent to us after another thirteen centuries have passed.

originally posted by: Ross 54

originally posted by: SolAquarius
If it's some sort of Dyson structure we are seeing it as it was 1300 years ago. Meaning that the civilization could have advanced a thousand years past what we currently see.
......keeping my fingers crossed for a structure.

Yes, since the star is apparently fading gradually in brightness, on top of the intermittent dips, it could be wholly covered up by now. This would only become apparent to us after another thirteen centuries have passed.

Unless it became wholly covered up ~1290 years ago -- which means we would be able to see it wholly covered within about 10 years.

Heck, if they worked fast enough and they wholly covered it ~1299 or 1298 years ago, then we might see the result of that full coverage in a year or two.

...Or not
especially if it turns out that there is an yet-unknown natural phenomenon driving the dimming rather than an alien megastructure.

The rate of gradual dimming seems to range between 0.2 and 0.34 percent per year. That suggest a process taking much longer than a few years. Even for an advanced civilization, the immense task of building a Dyson sphere might be expected to be a lengthy one.