Alien megastructure star "KIC8462852" kickstarter just met its goal

It looks like we have a few potential Dyson Spheres right here in the comments - ATS posters while normally brilliant, have undergone an unprecedented 30% dip in brightness...

This is genuine science.
A discovery made by regular citizens, funded by those who are interested in Tabby's star and with the purpose of giving an astronomical oddity some well deserved screen time, all while taking a step towards figuring out the cause for it's dips in luminosity.

I don't get what is not to love.

a reply to: Spacespider

Carrying religion into space seems to be an ideal as much science fiction goes, so calling it kyptonite to disable such superman ideas is comical. Especially when such ideals have yet to solve anything earthly except be fine examples of how greed, hate, and ignorance function in the species in that huge personal ignoarant divide of knowledge being poison itself causing such bias.

Sigh and thats the only proof I have to actually living... still breathing.

originally posted by: _BoneZ_
That KickStarter was a scam then, because scientists have already concluded that what they are seeing is most-likely natural phenomenon.

Yeah, just a way for some scientist to hog up limited telescope time to keep relevant among a sea of nobody scientists all scheming to get funding.

Orbital debris is not very interesting. If there were such a dyson sphere where are the intelligent electromagnetic signals to go along with it? Why are they not pointing a radio telescope there just once to record the absence of intelligence so that this scam is stopped in its tracks?

originally posted by: TinfoilTP

originally posted by: _BoneZ_
That KickStarter was a scam then, because scientists have already concluded that what they are seeing is most-likely natural phenomenon.

Yeah, just a way for some scientist to hog up limited telescope time to keep relevant among a sea of nobody scientists all scheming to get funding.

Orbital debris is not very interesting. If there were such a dyson sphere where are the intelligent electromagnetic signals to go along with it? Why are they not pointing a radio telescope there just once to record the absence of intelligence so that this scam is stopped in its tracks?

SETI allready listen to it..
But what should they listen for ??
What kind of signals do a potential many billions more advance civilizations send out ? surely not signals we use.

a reply to: TinfoilTP

Dont forget radio telescopes are an echo like sonar... if someone is bouncing such things all over space in a quazi vaccum? Travels pretty far and wide and not just to the destination in its pointing...

this is much like a lazer pointer having light or the dot to many places we dont want it to be before aiming it where we do... of course radio waves and light waves have a different propagation across such a medium we call time... light of course scatters as seen in the image example shown from whatever particulate it strikes.... sound is a pulse that drives so it must remain there longer to have an echo back...

It would be wise of course to calculate all the aiming before the target of observation and see how long such a bounce would take and the alignments required to achieve that bounce properly.

Collection of light over a period of time shows us an image to question and theorize what is occuring... over such vast ditances, it is like looking at a snap shot or photo of something back in time by however long it took for that medium to cross and capture it. Radio waves sonaring randomly throughout space must be calculated to recieve the poper echo or result back in telemetry.

So was the WOW signal this by accident? As the fellow was going back over data already covered but got too excited to note from where that bounce came from?

Is it any wonder all this blaring across the universe has been returning all sorts of puzzles lately? Radio telescopes have been no different that ants setting down a trail for food and sending out a hey food signal with other masses crossing such a path the signal is lost, yet not knowing the exact alignment from which they all took place as none of them are fixed.

So complaining about radio telescope usage when not used properly is kinda sorta moot... because I honestly cant say if they are used in sich a manner by some person or agency or not.

a reply to: Spacespider

Seems interesting. I think majority of science explanations are still stunted by what humans cannot imagine or begin to think could exist. There is probably various wondrous and beautiful worlds out there that perform completely different to our world, from the light it gives off to the colours its made from. I do not doubt that there is also megastructures out there too. After all, we will be achieving similar things not long from now to benefit our own energy needs. The universe is a big place, it would be clear civilisation has become very intelligent apart from us. Would not put the idea down it could be something of a dyson sphere.

I feel not long from now, we may discover a hidden past that may indicate we are our own aliens visitors. What we see, may already be us.

originally posted by: Spacespider

originally posted by: TinfoilTP

originally posted by: _BoneZ_
That KickStarter was a scam then, because scientists have already concluded that what they are seeing is most-likely natural phenomenon.

Yeah, just a way for some scientist to hog up limited telescope time to keep relevant among a sea of nobody scientists all scheming to get funding.

Orbital debris is not very interesting. If there were such a dyson sphere where are the intelligent electromagnetic signals to go along with it? Why are they not pointing a radio telescope there just once to record the absence of intelligence so that this scam is stopped in its tracks?

SETI allready listen to it..
But what should they listen for ??
What kind of signals do a potential many billions more advance civilizations send out ? surely not signals we use.

Simple, signals that other stars do not have.

originally posted by: ColdChillin
a reply to: Orionx2

That is ridiculous but it doesn't matter. The goal has been met and research will continue. Oh and by the way, she's an ASTROPHYSICIST. She has a job.

Research that will prove absolutely NOTHING. What is her JOB and were does she work? I can claim to be an astrophysicist. Title does not mean work.... What will this prove? The star flickers..... Okay? How do we get there and prove it? The best they can come up with is a theory thatcannot be proven until we can go there..

a reply to: Orionx2

What is her JOB and were does she work?

Tabetha Suzanne Boyajian (born c. 1971) is an American astronomer and post-doctoral fellow at Yale University, working with Debra Fischer.

Boyajian is active in the astronomical fields of stellar interferometry, stellar spectroscopy, exoplanet research, and high angular resolution astronomy, all particularly at optical and infrared wavelengths. She is the lead author of the September 2015 paper Where's the Flux? which investigates the highly unusual light curve of KIC 8462852 the star has been colloquially named Tabby's Star in her honor
en.wikipedia.org...

I love this project!

I hope they discover extraterrestial life.

First of all because its my wish since childhood.

Second because it would be so funny to see the faces of the explorers of RFSA, NASA, ESA, JSA,SETI et al. when they realise that some internet space cadets made possible what they failed to do so far.

Engage warp speed!

originally posted by: gortex
a reply to: Orionx2

What is her JOB and were does she work?

Tabetha Suzanne Boyajian (born c. 1971) is an American astronomer and post-doctoral fellow at Yale University, working with Debra Fischer.

Boyajian is active in the astronomical fields of stellar interferometry, stellar spectroscopy, exoplanet research, and high angular resolution astronomy, all particularly at optical and infrared wavelengths. She is the lead author of the September 2015 paper Where's the Flux? which investigates the highly unusual light curve of KIC 8462852 the star has been colloquially named Tabby's Star in her honor
en.wikipedia.org...

And?

a reply to: Orionx2

Science doesn't have to be proven to make progress, a great deal of science is just theory until proven/disproven at a later date. Likewise, if you can't physically see what is blocking tabby's star it doesn't mean that efforts to analyse its makeup are worthless.

Physically seeing whatever may be blocking it would be the end goal, there are many steps in between.

originally posted by: constant_thought
a reply to: Orionx2

Physically seeing whatever may be blocking it would be the end goal, there are many steps in between.

That is my point...................... NASA already gave a plausible theory and there is a few others that will NOT be PROVEN with another year of watching it.. We should be concentrating on the "in between steps". Like being able to go there.... jeez. I don't get why you people think one year of studing this will prove anything by an unknown astropysisist other than they don't need to work for a year and have access to $100,000. I would say quit being gullible but then then sites like this would not exist.

Anyway, one year from now we will know nothing more than we do now other than people are out $100,000.

Let me break this down for the naysayers.

Did you donate to this project? No? Then STFU, and put your own money in whatever other project you please. Perhaps a new version of the Knob Gobbler would be a better use of donated money? (look that one up if you think science is a stupid investment)

Do you have a network of observatories you're able to loan out for free to anyone & everyone, regardless of operating costs?
No?
Then build one to loan out to solve that problem. Obviously, you should be big on not cash-gating research since you're complaining about citizen funding for usage of a telescope network. Don't want to do that? Because it costs money big-time? Then, once again, STFU.

You were not forced to donate to the kickstarter. Nobody took your money, it's still in your fat little hands (metaphorically) The entire point of kickstarters is to fund what you want to see done that would otherwise never get funding, or would never get enough needed. If you want to go save the world, pick something -- a charity, kickstarter solution, something -- and do it. Don't just sit there & bitch about what other people choose to support when you yourself probably only dump a couple of old cranberry sauce cans on your mailman for their food drive (at BEST)

a reply to: Orionx2

I'm not following you, this is one of the steps in between. You're not going to use billions of dollars to send an exotic form of ship that doesn't yet exist to a location when no further research has been done.

This is $100,000 that people are happy to pay for any further study into Tabby's star. Do you really think $100,000 will do anything if we put it towards research into alternative forms of travel? With this extremely low level of funding there is no better option to choose if the focus is on finding out more about Tabby's star.

This year alone will be enough to figure out if it is a comet swarm or something more peculiar. This research wouldn't even be happening if it wasn't for the current theory's being so far from concrete that it is still wet cement.

originally posted by: Orionx2

originally posted by: constant_thought
a reply to: Orionx2

Physically seeing whatever may be blocking it would be the end goal, there are many steps in between.

That is my point...................... NASA already gave a plausible theory and there is a few others that will NOT be PROVEN with another year of watching it.. We should be concentrating on the "in between steps". Like being able to go there.... jeez. I don't get why you people think one year of studing this will prove anything by an unknown astropysisist other than they don't need to work for a year and have access to $100,000. I would say quit being gullible but then then sites like this would not exist.

Anyway, one year from now we will know nothing more than we do now other than people are out $100,000.

From the Popular Science website...

"The more scientists can learn about this star, the better. Both comets and an alien megastructure would be expected to produce extra infrared energy as they're blocking out all that light, but astronomers can't find evidence for that anywhere. Until they can come up with a better working hypothesis, KIC 8462852 will remain the most mysterious star in the universe."

Nasa's "theory" is exactly that..a theory...plausible, maybe, but not proven.
Personally, I find the 36 giant comets theory less plausible than an alien megastructure.

You said... "I don't get why you people think one year of studing this will prove anything by an unknown astropysisist other than they don't need to work for a year and have access to $100,000. I would say quit being gullible but then then sites like this would not exist. "

I highly doubt the people who are interested and have paid into the project will appreciate being called gullible and if you think the same of the users of this site, then why are you on it?

a reply to: Nyiah

Nice as possibility leaves room for possible impossible also has such potiential regardless. AKA Murphy's Law... if the possibilty exists it can and will beyond any desire to control it otherwise.

In reality it could be Alien made and used for whatever reason.
The amazing thing about Space, something I research ALWAYS is that we don't know 10% of the known areas we can see.
That for me is it, the mystery. Fair play to whoever is funding this. Maybe USA/Europe/Japan will all fund together. Space is about the only think (Apart from War) we will do together as a species...

Good post OP.
I had read about this when it was 1st noticed and the thought of a 'Humanoid made star' blew my mind away.
Then I come back and say "Might not be Humanoid" It could be sentient beings, or something so huge we are the microbes in the pond and we just can't see it...yet..

If they do find out it is an alien structure, this discovery will absolutely squash the Drake equation. This will also open the doors wide open for UFO technology to be made public.

"To cut a long story short, researchers led by Bradley E. Schaefer concluded that the comet-swarm theory does not match current observations. Schaefer said it would take about 648,000 comets - each 124 miles wide - to pass by Tabby's Star to block the brilliance and then return it. This was impossible." From www.techtimes.com...

If that is impossible, how could an alien civilization mine and refine the amount of specific elements needed to creat a functional Dyson sphere......