The star with an alleged alien megastrucutre just experienced another dimming event

KIC 8462852 is an F type main sequence star, similar to our own sun that is 1,280 light years away. The star is also known as Tabby’s Star, Boyajian’s Star and the WTF Star (the WTF stands for What is the Flux?). The star is remarkable because of one strange behavior, it shows variations in brightness that cannot be adequately explained by any known scientific phenomenon. The star has experienced another sharp dimming event. Astronomers around the world scrambled to observe the star during the event.

ALERT:@tsboyajian's star is dipping

This is not a drill.

Astro tweeps on telescopes in the next 48 hours: spectra please!

— Jason Wright (@Astro_Wright) May 19, 2017

Over the course of a few exciting hours, astronomers around the world watched and observed as the star behaved in an odd manner. Previously, the star had experienced sudden dimming events in 2011 and 2013, which were observed by Nasa’s Kepler mission. 

the newest light curve for #TabbysStar from LCO 0.4m scopes shows it has a complex shape. And its not over yet! @LCO_Global pic.twitter.com/wsIKK0JLJI

— Dr Tabetha Boyajian (@tsboyajian) May 21, 2017

Why yes, this *is* 10 minute old @BoyajiansStar data from @keckobservatory #keckobs pic.twitter.com/zIxI95nV3p

— John O'Meara (@astronomeara) May 21, 2017

Latest photometry from last night; this event seems to have ended, but remember than in Q16 they came in clumps.@tsboyajian pic.twitter.com/serFLLFXL9

— Jason Wright (@Astro_Wright) May 22, 2017

There have been various theories to explain the strange light signature of the star. Normally, the dimming of stars follows a predictable and regular pattern. Not so for KIC 8462852 which exhibits periods of sudden dimming that defies explanation. Data from the Kepler space telescope showed that the star was dimming, but historical records from astronomy plates kept at Harvard showed that the star had been dimming for over a century. There are a number of proposed explanations, but none of them accurately match the observed data. The star could be really distorted , or could have just eaten a planet , or — the most exciting theory — could have an alien megastructure around it.

The alien megastructure in question is known as a Dyson Sphere. Humans do not yet have the capability of building such structures. A Dyson Sphere, also known as a Dyson Shell, would be able to completely harness the energy output of a star. If there is an alien megastructure around KIC 8462852, it is built by a civilisation more advanced than human beings. According to the Kardashev scale, there are three types of civilisations . Type I can consume as much energy as humans on Earth. Type II can harness the energy output of a star. Type III civilizations can consume the energy output of an entire galaxy.

A true Dyson Sphere would radiate only trace amounts of leaked energy, and would be virtually invisible. Another explanation for the possible alien superstructure is a variant of a Dyson Sphere, known as a Dyson Swarm, which is a number of smaller objects surrounding the star. According to Nasa, the likely explanation for the observed light signature is a swarm of comets and dust . The study was lead by Massimo Marengo of Iowa State University. Soon after publishing the research, Marengo had said, “This is a very strange star. It reminds me of when we first discovered pulsars. They were emitting odd signals nobody had ever seen before, and the first one discovered was named LGM-1 after ‘Little Green Men.’”

Pulsars are rapidly spinning neutron stars with beams of light that are only visible when they sweep across the earth. The stars appear to flash with unnatural regularity, and some of the pulsars are as accurate as atomic clocks. When such objects were first discovered, it was hypothesized that the pulsars were signs of an intelligent alien race. In due course, a scientific explanation was discovered for the phenomenon.

A previously unknown natural phenomenon could eventually be discovered to explain the behavior of KIC 8462852. However, the star is an object of interest for the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) Institute. Radio telescopes aimed at the star are looking for intelligent signals originating from it. A Kickstarter has been funded to solve the mystery of the sudden dimming in the star. Researchers are monitoring the star with the Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network ( LCOGT ), to help scientists get the data they need to solve the mystery.