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KIC 8462852 - Have we detected megastructures built by aliens around a distant star?

tingting44

By tingting44
in The Astro Lounge

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tingting44

tingting44

Posted
Posted

i just found out about this today and am amazed, just done a search on here but cant find anything? what are your thoughts on it? has anyone here imaged the area of 6866? i know where ill be pointing my scope next....

http://www.sciencealert.com/scientists-can-t-explain-the-bizarre-mass-of-objects-orbiting-a-distant-star

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gooseholla

gooseholla

Posted
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radio telescope anyone?

michael

The three astronomers want to point a radio dish at the star to look for wavelengths associated with technological civilisations. And the first observations could be ready to take place as early as January, with follow-up observations potentially coming even quicker."

Seems like they're already on it.

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Ouroboros

Ouroboros

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The three astronomers want to point a radio dish at the star to look for wavelengths associated with technological civilisations. And the first observations could be ready to take place as early as January, with follow-up observations potentially coming even quicker."

Seems like they're already on it.

January? Why not today? :-)
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michael.h.f.wilkinson

michael.h.f.wilkinson

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I wonder if anyone is trying spectroscopy, and in particular to check for indications of Zeeman splitting of spectral lines, especially during these large, random fluctuations. Zeeman splitting might indicate unusually strong magnetic fields. I just wonder if some humongous "starspots" might be causing these effects. Really interesting phenomenon, whatever the cause

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Ouroboros

Ouroboros

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I susoect a natural phenomenon is the most likely explanation. Kepler may simply have stumbled across a different type of variable star. That's the thing about doing new basic science, it quite often throws up the unexpected.

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JamesF

JamesF

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I susoect a natural phenomenon is the most likely explanation. Kepler may simply have stumbled across a different type of variable star. That's the thing about doing new basic science, it quite often throws up the unexpected.

I think this is what's fascinating about it.  It's fun to speculate about alien megastructures, but even if it's a natural phenomenon there's the potential for genuinely new science here and who knows where that might lead?

James

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symesie04

symesie04

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Well even if there are aliens building a structure that seems to be of proportions im not sure are possible then unless they started building it 1481 years ago Radio telescopes arent likely to give us any new information, and thats assuming of course they would be using any form of radio waves for any purpose. Im not sure all the structures on Earth could produce a structure half the width of a large star, how much resources would you need to harvest?

And if it does turn out to be just a bunch of comets then thats still pretty cool in my book. 

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