Astronomers scramble as ‘alien megastructure’ star dims again

The most famously weird star in our galaxy is acting up again. On Friday, 19 May, Tabby’s star began to dim, carrying on a history of mysterious dips in brightness. Astronomers are scrambling to point as many telescopes as possible at the star, which is 1,300 light-years away in the constellation Cygnus, to decipher its strange signal.

In 2015, a team of astronomers led by Yale’s Tabetha Boyajian saw the light from the star KIC 8462852 suddenly and repeatedly dip in brightness. The star dimmed by up to 22 per cent before it returned to normal.

Then, in 2016, a review of old photographic plates revealed that KIC 8462852 dimmed by 14 per cent between 1890 and 1989. The star, nicknamed Tabby’s star after Boyajian, faded by another 3 per cent over the four years it was observed by the Kepler space observatory.

Astronomers have come up with a huge variety of different potential explanations for the star’s strange behaviour. Some say it could be because of its interior dynamics, some say it could be surrounded by a swarm of asteroids and debris. Or maybe it’s dimming because it devoured a planet at some time in the past. Most famously, some astronomers have said that the dimming could be caused by an orbiting alien megastructure.

Because Tabby’s star has cultivated such an air of mystery, the response to its new dimming has been quick and enthusiastic, with some telescope observations of the star already planned over the next few days. If we’re lucky, new observations may just help us figure out what’s making KIC 8462852 dim (it’s probably not aliens).

Astronomers scramble as ‘alien megastructure’ star dims again

So, its acting wierd again. And I am still surprised that after so many years no one can explain why this keeps on happening but this time could be a breakthrough. As telescopes all around the world zoom in on this star maybe we will finally get some answers.

a reply to: asen_y2k

It dims because the extraterrestrial factories are busy creating exotic metals used in their death drones.

Maybe it was winking-out 1,300 years ago. Might be totally gone now.

a reply to: asen_y2k

They say it ate a planet. That caused its dimming.

How many planets can it eat??

The other thought is it is in a phase transition. But to what phase?? Last year they took a good look at it but I have not seen any results yet. So we still don't know.

Thin article...
They say astronomers scramble.. but do not even name one the follow this new development ..
Sure they speak of the old team that discovered it... but it does not say who is watching it now.
I believe they have burred this one.. they simple does not know and have just become a guessing game

a reply to: asen_y2k

Breaking news !!!!!!!!

This just in !!!!

A star dimmed sometime around the year 717ish.

Scientists just noticed now.

Meanwhile: city employee tells boss he was working all night checking 1300 year-old infrastructure.
Boss isn't buying it.

a reply to: asen_y2k

Honestly, a Dyson mega-structure still fits the data better than any other explanation I have heard so far.

I hope we have seen a type 1 civilization and that we can set up communications.

originally posted by: chr0naut
I hope we have seen a type 1 civilization and that we can set up communications.

Actually, if it's a Dyson Sphere, then it's a Type II civilisation under the Kardashev Scale. At least that's the way I interpret it.

If (and it's a big "if") it was a Dyson Sphere, then we would be talking about aliens who would be an order of magnitude more advanced than us. To build the machinery to partially (or fully) enclose a star would require a colossal effort. Us humans have not even worked out to love one another!

While it's nice to think this could be aliens, the truth may turn out to be otherwise.

originally posted by: paraphi

originally posted by: chr0naut
I hope we have seen a type 1 civilization and that we can set up communications.

Actually, if it's a Dyson Sphere, then it's a Type II civilisation under the Kardashev Scale. At least that's the way I interpret it.

If (and it's a big "if") it was a Dyson Sphere, then we would be talking about aliens who would be an order of magnitude more advanced than us. To build the machinery to partially (or fully) enclose a star would require a colossal effort. Us humans have not even worked out to love one another!

While it's nice to think this could be aliens, the truth may turn out to be otherwise.

Well, if they are constructing a Dyson Sphere, they have not yet fully captured all the energy of their star.

I would also suggest that there is nothing of 'ours' that they couldn't get for themselves and so we would be a curiosity to them. They would know we pose no threat to them and they probably have no malign intent against us.

I think that any conversation between us would be quite interesting.

It does sound credible, scientists looking at the stars for decades and not finding any life. Then when they have gazed enough to know what is normal, only a few specks seem off compared to it's surroundings. Basically they are looking at a canvas made up of inanimate matter and the animate matter begins to stand out. It would be fascinating if they were looking at an actual space port with ships coming in relative to the size of our mammoth cargo ships that dims out light.

Post started a few days ago here about same subject:

www.abovetopsecret.com...

I'm willing to bet if a civilization can
build a structure to encompass their Sun
Faster than Light travel should have had its
box ticked many millennia before.

a reply to: asen_y2k

Given that this object is approximately 1,300 light years away from Earth (assuming I have done my research correctly), there is NO reason to be confused as to why we do not yet know precisely what is causing this mysterious dimming effect. Simply put, its a hell of a long way off, such a hell of a long way, that the majority of what we CAN know about it, will not come from direct imaging, but from analysis of numerical data collected by telescopes of varying types and capabilities.

We will, likely as not, never see a time where we can actually observe the object in a high degree of resolution, to the point where you could look, with your eyes, to identify what is happening there. All that we are ever likely to know in our lifetimes, about this star, will come from detailed numerical analysis, as opposed to images which show in exacting and uncompromising, visible detail, what is actually afoot there.

there seems to be a 2 year interval between dimmings

on record, the 2009 - 2011 - 2013 events by the telescope designed for that mission...
and the 2015 & now 2017 events that are witnessed from observations not designed to measure that Star's ativity

now I read there were past observations in the late 1800s which also fall into that repeating 2 year pattern of the Star dimming noticeably....

it is not a rare accident causing these periodic dimmings, it is something stable and recurring

...just like the Earth has this recurring problem with the Core overheating as the Mantle itself gets into a state of constipation where the even mixing of convection currents of flowing Mantle (liquid rock) thickens to a point where plumes of heat congregate under previous vent areas and dormant lava events come back-to-life...

originally posted by: chr0naut
a reply to: asen_y2k

Honestly, a Dyson mega-structure still fits the data better than any other explanation I have heard so far.

I hope we have seen a type 1 civilization and that we can set up communications.

Or maybe we should listen to Steven Hawkins and not dial them up??

originally posted by: Spider879

originally posted by: chr0naut
a reply to: asen_y2k

Honestly, a Dyson mega-structure still fits the data better than any other explanation I have heard so far.

I hope we have seen a type 1 civilization and that we can set up communications.

Or maybe we should listen to Steven Hawkins and not dial them up??

Hawking's estimation is based upon his analysis of what we have done in the past.

I would expect a type 1 or 2 civilization to act a bit, well,... more 'civilised' than us 'less than zero's' have.

... and I'm pretty sure Stephen could do with a fix-up, as well.

a reply to: asen_y2k

Might just be an alien operating a big dimmer switch.

Just has a small black hole in orbit around it.

a reply to: chr0naut

I would expect a type 2 civilization to operate along the lines of logic which is probobly the only feasible direction to travel if ones expects to master such a level of technological prowess.

Thing is through our notion of whats civilized is not exactly synonymous with logic as history has illustrated time and time again, so why should theirs be any different?

I imagine once any civilization reaches such a technological level of wonder, notions such as good and evil, guiding constructs that we use to measures morality and/or what we consider to be civilized would be rather beneath them.