SETI: On the Verge of a Breakthrough?

a reply to: slip2break

S&F Slip2break. I'm now reading up on Dyson Spheres and first contact protocols - stuff I'd never really looked at before.

I am still digesting the data in initial paper. I was incorrect with my initial interpretation while panning the paper. The maximum dip in the light curve is 22% and appears to have had a transit time of a little under one day. To put it in perspective Kepler 17b, a planet about 2.5 times the size of Jupiter and close in to the sun had a 2-3% light curve dip with a duration of around a day

Kepler 17b

If anyone can provide more comparisons so we all can get a little idea of scale, it would be much appreciated,

a reply to: slip2break

I think that there has been a sea change of sorts in the SETI community as of late that it's much more likely we will detect the presence of alien technology than a direct signal of sorts. This is a good strategy when you realize that radio and TV could go extinct in even in our limited civilization Becuase of recent technology advances, but when you look at our radar, microwave and various other emissions, earth is still a very noisy object. Since Aliens will most likely be using energy on a larger scale, we are more likely to detect them that way. I believe the plan now is to listen to this star for such emissions. Keep your fingers crossed.

originally posted by: InnerPeace2012
This shouldn't come as a surprise, since UFO fanatics already are convinced that we are not alone in this multiverse.

It doesn't take a UFO fanatic to think we are not alone in this universe. Plenty of people feel we are not alone in the universe, but still aren't convinced that aliens are visiting Earth in spaceships.

Great find we'll see what come's out of it. For now S&F

a reply to: slip2break

A big find for the planet hunters, planet or not.

I haven't participated for a while now, but I don't recall ever seeing dips in magnitude like that. The last graph on page 5 is probably the most telling.

I don't know much, but whatever it was, it was big.

If something is there blocking light first we have to rule out a companion star that disassociates or because of the dynamic of gravity, its mass and proximity to the central star, is pulled apart or circles as a disassociated disk of material.

Place that plane of ecliptic on angle and its like viewing Saturn through its rings.

Here is a video explaining the whole thing..

Hmm, imagine civilisation that is able to cloak WHOLE planet...anyway, they failed.

Psssth - SETI is always on the verge of something. That's the problem, always on the verge, but never delivering anything worth really looking at. Always alluding to transparency and alien contact, but never delivering anything but empty promises. .....but this time it's different right? LOL

This is IT three times everything comes by three.. First water on Mars , then Pluto .. And now soon NASA will come with a third presentation , remember me saying!

Interesting ,I wonder if a probe is in order?

originally posted by: schuyler

originally posted by: Hyperia
a reply to: schuyler

So he implies the anomaly could be an advanced type 2 alien structure?

Not Kurzweil himself on this particular issue (that I know of), but this is clearly the implication of the article and paper. The paper suggested structures to capture solar power, and that is in line with these other theories. The paper cited here is banking on a "cloud of comets" as the reason for these "energy dips." It's not surprising they would not suggest anything technological, which is nowhere near proven.

Edit to add: It's 1481 light years from us.

Yes, in the article I read, they specifically said the only included natural possible causes in this report which infers that of the natural possible causes, the cloud of comets best fits.

They are planning to release a separate report for "alternative" causes which would likely include alien mega structures.

originally posted by: cavtrooper7
Interesting ,I wonder if a probe is in order?

By the time it got there, we'd all be dead .. we need to invent the warp drive first

I'm not an expert in this, ok. Many gradeschoolers tow more than myself. But I found this passage interesting:
(source)
(from page 13)

Our most promising theory invokes a family of exocomets. One way we imagine such a barrage of comets could be triggered is by the passage of a field star through the system. And, in fact, as discussed above, there is a small star nearby (~ 1000 AU; Section 2.3) which, if moving near to KIC 8462852, but not bound to it, could trigger a barrage of bodies into the vicinity of the host star. On the other hand, if the companion star is bound, it could be pumping up comet eccentricities through the Kozai mechanism. Measuring the motion/orbit of the companion star with respect to KIC 8462852 would be telling in whether or not it is associated, and we would then be able to put stricter predictions on the timescale and repeatability of comet showers based on bound or unbound star-comet perturbing models. Finally, comets would release gas (as well as dust), and sensitive observations to detect this gas would also test this hypothesis.

Section 2.3 covers it. Here's a sample:
(source)
(from page 6)

At this separation, the second star cannot currently be physically affecting the behavior of the Kepler target star, though could be affecting bodies in orbit around it via long term perturbations. If such a star is unbound from KIC 8462852, but traveling through the system perpendicular to our line of sight, it would take only 400 years to double its separation if traveling at 10 km sec⁻¹. So, the passage would be relatively short-lived in astronomical terms.

Here's an article on slate (by Phil Plait) about it (just updated today):
www.slate.com - Did Astronomers Find Evidence of an Alien Civilization? (Probably Not. But Still Cool.)...
(His opinion about what I quote above? Below...)

The last idea the astronomers looked at was a series of comets orbiting the star. These could be surrounded by clouds of gas and other material that could produce the dips seen. The lack of IR is puzzling in that case, but not too damning. If another star happened to pass nearby, then its gravity could disturb the first star’s Oort cloud, the region billions of kilometers out where we think most (if not all) stars have billions of icy objects. This disturbance could send these ice chunks flying down toward the star, where they could break up, creating all those weird dips—ices in them would heat up, blow off as a gas, and could explain the odd shapes of the dips detected, too.

And, as it happens, there is another star pretty close to KIC 8462852; a small red dwarf about 130 billion kilometers out. That’s close enough to affect the Oort cloud.

This doesn’t close the case, though. Comets are a good guess, but it’s hard to imagine a scenario where they could completely block 22 percent of the light from a star; that’s a huge amount. Really huge.

They mentioned it to be collectors , but could it also be a device that keeps this star from going supernova ?
It doesn't make sense why blocking light when you need light to grow things on planets ?

Amazing, paper. I would like to know what comet has a duration of 5-80 days in the area of the star where it acts as a natural barrier for the photons leaving that star. Unless the star is relatively small and the comets are pretty much continous. Or the comets are pretty much orbiting like planets, I just dont see this

In love with this story. Absolutely fascinating.

There are some new stories today going into a lot more detail into why this observation is such an enigma-

Has Kepler Discovered an Alien Megastructure?
NASA's Kepler Space-Telescope Data Yields a Bizarre Star
Did Astronomers Find Evidence of an Alien Civilization?

Now, if it is an alien megastructure then we can make some assumptions-

A. Building something on this scale would require advanced computer, robotics, and spacefaring technology.

B. Any civilization at this technological level would have long ago built giant telescopes and surveyed the atmospheres of planets orbiting neighboring stars out to 1000s of light years distance.

C. By observing Earths atmosphere they would have discovered that our planet is teeming with life.

D. Such an advanced civilization would have at the very least have sent a robotic probe to investigate our world.

These assumptions are very reasonable and don't require any concepts that break the laws of physics as we understand them. Even if it takes them 10000s of years to travel to Earth it still would have been worthwhile to do so as the resource and energy costs would be negligible for such an advanced civilization.

Instead of a purely robotic mission they could also feasibly create an artificial womb and send frozen embryos to be incubated once they reach their destination.

Pure speculation of course, but it would explain ancient aliens, UFOs, etc.

originally posted by: seaswine
This is great! I really hope it turns out to be the vulcans or something. Not the comet cloud the paper hypothesizes it to be.

If everyone knew, without a shadow of doubt there is another intelligent species within our galaxy, just imagine the good it could possibly do. Maybe we'd take the trillions spent on fighting each other, and put it all towards more exploration of space. Heck, it's what we should already be doing...

No, it isn't.

What we should be doing already is helping everyone on this planet attain a modern standard of living. Then, take care of the wars, corruption, crime, greed, hunger, poverty and other strife.

And after all of that is done, THEN we can go to the stars!

Until then, it's a waste of time and resources to go into space, as it's nothing but a REALLY expensive drop in the bucket of possibilities for space exploration. And on top of THAT, we know more about outer space than our own ocean floor!

Space is super cool and all (no pun intended), but logic, selflessness and the courage to help one another is MUCH more important in this present moment.