A couple of pop-science articles about this observation:
"The Most Mysterious Star in Our Galaxy" |
The Atlantic (http://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2015/10/the-most-interesting-star-in-our-galaxy/410023/)
Quote"We'd never seen anything like this star," says Tabetha Boyajian, a postdoc at Yale. "It was really weird. We thought it might be bad data or movement on the spacecraft, but everything checked out."
. . .
The light pattern suggests there is a big mess of matter circling the star, in tight formation. That would be expected if the star were young. When our solar system first formed, four and a half billion years ago, a messy disk of dust and debris surrounded the sun, before gravity organized it into planets, and rings of rock and ice.
But this unusual star isn't young. If it were young, it would be surrounded by dust that would give off extra infrared light. There doesn't seem to be an excess of infrared light around this star.
It appears to be mature.
And yet, there is this mess of objects circling it. A mess big enough to block a substantial number of photons that would have otherwise beamed into the tube of the Kepler Space Telescope. If blind nature deposited this mess around the star, it must have done so recently. Otherwise, it would be gone by now. Gravity would have consolidated it, or it would have been sucked into the star and swallowed, after a brief fiery splash.
[Continues . . . (http://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2015/10/the-most-interesting-star-in-our-galaxy/410023/)]
"Astronomers Have Spotted Something Very, Very Strange Surrounding A Distant Star" |
IFLScience (http://www.iflscience.com/space/milky-ways-most-mysterious-star)
QuoteKepler [space observatory] observed the star KIC 8462852 for four years starting in 2009. Typically, orbiting planets only dim the light of their host star for a period of a few hours to a few days depending on their orbit. A group of citizen scientists noticed that this star appeared to have two small dips in 2009, followed by a large dip lasting almost a week in 2011, and finally a series of multiple dips significantly dimming the star's light in 2013.
[Continues . . . (http://www.iflscience.com/space/milky-ways-most-mysterious-star)]
. . . And a paper (PDF) (http://arxiv.org/pdf/1509.03622v1.pdf) discussing the findings.
Some folks are suggesting this might be evidence of a highly advanced technology. It will be interesting to see what further observation will bring to light. ;)
That is weird. I wonder if it be that a rogue planet got caught in the stars gravity and eventually collided with one of the stars planets obliterating both. Of course advanced technology would be cool too.
I would love it to be alien tech but it's probably just cometary debris. :(
It's a NG navy cruiser attacking the innocent, peace-loving Whooples again. There's a Whoople base in that system.
Asmos. Asmos are reported to have been scheming in that area.
(https://mplrecommends.files.wordpress.com/2014/06/resized_ancient-aliens-invisible-something-meme-generator-i-m-not-saying-it-was-aliens-but-it-was-aliens-1824f9.jpg?w=978)
If it was aliens, I don't suppose there's any chance at all of finding it out?
Quote from: BooksCatsEtc on October 17, 2015, 01:21:29 AM
If it was aliens, I don't suppose there's any chance at all of finding it out?
With the proposed hypothesis of it being aliens as well as the other a simple visual verification would suffice. As the movement is an anomaly it is a prime candidate for further study. Now the problem becomes how do we view that sort of distance and is there any funding to research a specific target telescope so we could get more clarity. I don't think we as a species have ever had a target at such a distance such as this that would be worth such an investment in the kind of telescope needed before.
You have a problem you develop a method to potentially answer that solution, that is science. We will never know unless people try.
Quote from: BooksCatsEtc on October 17, 2015, 01:21:29 AM
If it was aliens, I don't suppose there's any chance at all of finding it out?
From the article in
The Atlantic:
QuoteBoyajian is now working with Wright and Andrew Siemion, the Director of the SETI Research Center at the University of California, Berkeley. The three of them are writing up a proposal. They want to point a massive radio dish at the unusual star, to see if it emits radio waves at frequencies associated with technological activity.
If they see a sizable amount of radio waves, they'll follow up with the Very Large Array (VLA) in New Mexico, which may be able to say whether the radio waves were emitted by a technological source, like those that waft out into the universe from Earth's network of radio stations.
But is there time enough for the information to go back and forth, even if there's someone for it to go to? I understand that's always been the big problem with space travel, is it any less of a problem with information?
Quote from: BooksCatsEtc on October 17, 2015, 04:27:41 AM
But is there time enough for the information to go back and forth, even if there's someone for it to go to? I understand that's always been the big problem with space travel, is it any less of a problem with information?
I don't think that anybody is thinking of trying to contact the hypothetical technologically advanced species; they just want to see if there is any evidence for its existence. Since the light which produced the observation has reached us, so would hypothetical radio transmissions. There is an assumption that the hypothetical species would be communicating in the radio part of the electromagnetic spectrum, as we have been since the early part of the last century, or at least producing unusual noise in those frequencies as a byproduct of other technological activities. That assumption may be incorrect, but these scientists would like to check it out.
:) Problem solved: China Builds Worlds Largest Radio Telescope.
http://www.happyatheistforum.com/forum/index.php?topic=14081.0 (http://www.happyatheistforum.com/forum/index.php?topic=14081.0)
Some scientists at SETI are already trying to check for radio signals from this star system:
"Search For Intelligent Aliens Near Bizarre Dimming Star Has Begun" |
Space.com (http://www.space.com/30855-alien-life-search-kepler-megastructure.html)
QuoteThe leading hypothesis at the moment involves a swarm of comets that may have been sent careening toward KIC 8462852, possibly after a gravitational jostle by a passing star. But it's also possible, astronomers say, that the signal Kepler saw was caused by huge structures built by an alien civilization (http://www.space.com/30849-bizarre-kepler-signal-alien-intelligence-speculation.html) — say, a giant assortment of orbiting solar panels.
That latter possibility, remote though it may be, has put KIC 8462852 in the crosshairs of scientists who hunt for signals that may have been generated by intelligent aliens.
"We are looking at it with the Allen Telescope Array," said Seth Shostak, a senior astronomer at the SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (http://www.space.com/30043-seti-search-for-extraterrestrial-intelligence-infographic.html)) Institute in Mountain View, California.
[Continues . . . (http://www.space.com/30855-alien-life-search-kepler-megastructure.html)]
The first SETI results are in.
"What the Flux? No Sign of Aliens Around Strange, Dimming Star" |
Space.com (http://www.space.com/31054-no-alien-megastructure-signal-strange-star.html)
QuoteIf alien civilizations are broadcasting from around a strangely behaving star, they aren't chatting loud enough for humans to hear them from Earth, new observations show.
. . .
"The history of astronomy tells us that, every time we thought we had found a phenomenon due to the activities of extraterrestrials, we were wrong," SETI Institute astronomer Seth Shostak said in a statement. "But although it's quite likely that this star's strange behavior is due to nature, not aliens, it's only prudent to check things out."
. . .
The ATA's [Allen Telescope Array] dishes examined the star for two types of radio signals. Narrowband signals, which make up most SETI searches, are considered plausible for advanced societies to use as a "hailing signal" to announce their presence to other civilizations. Broadband signals might come from spacecraft servicing any alien projects around the star, and could leak from spacecraft propelled by intense microwave beams.
. . .
[T]he SETI Institute announced in a statement yesterday (http://www.seti.org/seti-institute/press-release/looking-deliberate-radio-signals-kic-8462852) (Nov. 5) that there was "no clear evidence for either type of signal." The search rules out omnidirectional transmitters that use a minimum amount of energy to broadcast their signal. This minimum is approximately 100 times the total amount of energy currently used on Earth (terrestrially) for the narrowband signals, and 10 million times higher than that for broadband emissions, researcherse said.
The findings don't eliminate the possibility of alien communications coming from the region around the star — but those communications are weaker than what SETI searches are currently able to detect. The limitations come primarily from the distance between Earth and the star, scientists said.
[Continues . . . (http://www.space.com/31054-no-alien-megastructure-signal-strange-star.html)]
Not conclusive results, but results. If there is a civilization inhabiting the KIC 8462852 system, they aren't using 100 times the total energy output of the Earth to power a "Hey, here we are!" beacon. :sadshake:
:notsure: You know what? I need a more reliable source, so I'll just wait for Ihateyoumike's final report.
Quote from: Magdalena on November 07, 2015, 06:03:19 AM
:notsure: You know what? I need a more reliable source, so I'll just wait for Ihateyoumike's final report.
*like*
Speaking of Star Emitting Extremely Unusual Light Patterns, and "The Most Mysterious Star in Our Galaxy" Does anyone know what happened to Ihateyoumike?
Just want to know, don't want to derail. :fingerwag:
Quote from: Magdalena on November 08, 2015, 01:18:10 AM
Speaking of Star Emitting Extremely Unusual Light Patterns, and "The Most Mysterious Star in Our Galaxy" Does anyone know what happened to Ihateyoumike?
Just want to know, don't want to derail. :fingerwag:
I don't know, but his brother
hismikeness has logged in (though didn't post anything) since
Asmodean Prime revived HAF, so at least one of them is still around. I miss both of them here--they are good company. :sadnod:
(https://www.happyatheistforum.com/forum/Smileys/default/tellmemore.gif) Thanks, Recusant. I can always count on you when I need answers.
Sorry it wasn't much of an answer--more of a "yeah, me too." :sigh:
I know...
(https://www.happyatheistforum.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fyoursmiles.org%2Ftsmile%2Ftears%2Ft2307.gif&hash=f20bd608282ea2b51e7b0239492edf9ff768069f)
Back to updating the KIC 8462852 (apparently informally known as "Tabby's Star") story:
"Comet fragments best explanation of mysterious dimming star" |
Astronomy Now (http://astronomynow.com/2015/11/25/comet-fragments-best-explanation-of-mysterious-dimming-star/)
Quote(https://www.happyatheistforum.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fastronomynow.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2015%2F11%2FTabbys_Star_1133x638.jpg&hash=8240371abc52129b818bdaf494335ea09ed9614a)
This illustration shows a star behind a shattered comet. Observations of the star KIC 8462852 by NASA's Kepler and Spitzer space telescopes suggest that its unusual light signals are likely from dusty comet fragments, which blocked the light of the star as they passed in front of it in 2011 and 2013. The comets are thought to be travelling around the star in a very long, eccentric orbit.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech.
Quote[Massimo Marengo, an Iowa State University associate professor of physics and astronomy] and two other astronomers decided to take a close look at the star using data taken with the Infrared Array Camera of NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. They report their findings in a paper recently published online by The Astrophysical Journal Letters.
"The scenario in which the dimming in the KIC 8462852 light curve were caused by the destruction of a family of comets remains the preferred explanation," wrote the three — Marengo; Alan Hulsebus, an Iowa State doctoral student; and Sarah Willis, a former Iowa State graduate student now with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Lincoln Laboratory.
[Continues . . . (http://astronomynow.com/2015/11/25/comet-fragments-best-explanation-of-mysterious-dimming-star/)]
The abstract of the paper published in
The Astrophysical Journal Letters (http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/2041-8205/814/1/L15;jsessionid=E749F8369A29C1837D98123509BABCD4.c4.iopscience.cld.iop.org):
QuoteWe analyzed the warm Spitzer/IRAC data of KIC 8462852. We found no evidence of infrared excess at 3.6 μm and a small excess of 0.43 ± 0.18 mJy at 4.5 μm below the 3σ threshold necessary to claim a detection. The lack of strong infrared excess 2 years after the events responsible for the unusual light curve observed by Kepler further disfavors the scenarios involving a catastrophic collision in a KIC 8462852 asteroid belt, a giant impact disrupting a planet in the system or a population of dust-enshrouded planetesimals. The scenario invoking the fragmentation of a family of comets on a highly elliptical orbit is instead consistent with the lack of strong infrared excess found by our analysis.
There have been observations of a second star that show similar changing light patterns to those seen coming from KIC 8462852. "Researchers just found a second 'Dyson Sphere' star" |
ScienceAlert (http://www.sciencealert.com/researchers-just-found-a-second-dyson-sphere-star)
QuoteWhen astronomers discovered a strange pattern of light near a distant star called KIC 8462852 back in October (http://www.sciencealert.com/scientists-can-t-explain-the-bizarre-mass-of-objects-orbiting-a-distant-star), it was like nothing anyone had observed before.
When a planet passes in front of star, the star's brightness usually dips by around 1 percent, but KIC 8462852 has been experiencing dips of up to 22 percent, suggesting that something huge is zooming past. And now a second star with strange dips in brightness has been identified.
Named EPIC 204278916 (http://arxiv.org/abs/1608.07291), the star is estimated to be about the size of our Sun in diameter, but has only half its mass.
It was discovered by NASA's Kepler spacecraft in 2014, and ever since, a team of astronomers led by Simone Scaringi from the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics in Germany have been keeping tabs on its dips in light, or 'light curves'.
And this thing is even stranger than KIC 8462852.
The researchers report that over 78.8 days of observations, EPIC 204278916 displayed irregular dimming of up to 65 percent for around 25 consecutive days.
[Continues . . . (http://www.sciencealert.com/researchers-just-found-a-second-dyson-sphere-star)]
Oh, and I noticed
hismikeness lurking again here on HAF a while back. :abduct:
Quote from: Tank on October 16, 2015, 03:53:00 PM
I would love it to be alien tech but it's probably just cometary debris. :(
Yeah... I expect an advanced civilization has better uses for its star than turning it into a nuclear powered discoball.
More observations of unusual changes in KIC 8462852:
"Our galaxy's most-mysterious star is even stranger than astronomers thought"
ScienceDaily (https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/10/161003140315.htm)
QuoteA star known by the unassuming name of KIC 8462852 in the constellation Cygnus has been raising eyebrows both in and outside of the scientific community for the past year. In 2015 a team of astronomers announced that the star underwent a series of very brief, non-periodic dimming events while it was being monitored by NASA's Kepler space telescope, and no one could quite figure out what caused them. A new study from Carnegie's Josh Simon and Caltech's Ben Montet has deepened the mystery.
[. . .]
"The steady brightness change in KIC 8462852 is pretty astounding," said Montet. "Our highly accurate measurements over four years demonstrate that the star really is getting fainter with time. It is unprecedented for this type of star to slowly fade for years, and we don't see anything else like it in the Kepler data."
"This star was already completely unique because of its sporadic dimming episodes. But now we see that it has other features that are just as strange, both slowly dimming for almost three years and then suddenly getting fainter much more rapidly," Simon added.
[Continues . . . (https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/10/161003140315.htm)]
While a good hypothesis for explaining what's going on with KIC 8462852/Tabby's Star has been advanced ("Scientists Think They Can Finally Explain The Weirdness That Is The 'Alien Megastructure' Star" (http://www.sciencealert.com/scientists-think-they-can-finally-explain-the-weirdness-that-is-the-alien-megastructure-star?perpetual=yes&limitstart=1)) not many people seem to be aware of it.
So in the story below, no mention is made of the somewhat mundane explanation ("an internal phase transition, which is causing powerful outbursts on the surface that are occasionally blocking the light emissions that our telescopes detect") but what it says is of interest to those who've been keeping track of news about KIC 8462852.
"The 'Alien Megastructure' Star Is Dimming Again" | The Atlantic (https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2017/05/tabbys-star-alien-megastructure/527382/)
Astronomers are scurrying to book telescope time to observe, and maybe something further will be learned. :)
It's interesting, but I feel like the "mundane" explanation is close to the truth.