The kickstarter to solve the mystery around the star KIC 8462852 just got funded

The Kickstarter funding the collection of the necessary data astronomers can use to solve the mystery around the star KIC 8462852 just got completely funded. The star is called the WTF star, standing for the regular acronym, as well as “Where is the Flux?”. The star gained prominence because of an unusual light signature, which is different from every other star known. The specuation for what these light signatures could mean ranged from a debris field of colliding planets, a cloud of disintegrating comets, to everyone’s favorite hypothesis, an alien megastructure. The problem is that none of these hypotheses are a complete explanation because these are not long lasting effects, and it is very unlikely that such a light signature would be observed. The Kickstarter helping scientists with the data needed to solve the problem just got funded for $100,000. 1,762 backers sucessfully raised $107,422 (Rs. 72,05,056) within 30 days of the launch of the project. More than half of the funding money was obtained in the last week of the Kickstarter. The researchers are now monitoring the star with the Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network, or the LCOGT. The actual logistics for what happens next will have to be worked out by the team, but the backers are expected to get regular updates throughout the period the researchers will track the star. A custom data pipeline will be set up to streamline the analysis of the collected data. The money will allow the researchers to buy additional time with the instruments needed to observe the star.