![]() ![]() These fell into two distinct categories: 15 were "slow dippers" that dimmed at rates similar to Boyajian's star, and six were "rapid dippers" that showed even more extreme variability in their dimming rates. Schmidt identified 21 stars that showed possibly unusual dimming. He then followed up on promising candidates by examining their long-term behavior, using data from the All-Sky Automated Survey for Supernovae, ruling out sources whose dimming could be caused by conventional explanations such as an eclipsing companion star or some intrinsic variability in brightness. Schmidt looked for counterparts of Boyajian's star using software that searched for analogous dimming events from about 14 million objects with varying brightness monitored in the Northern Sky Variable Survey from April 1999 to March 2000. Now, study author Edward Schmidt, an astrophysicist at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, suggests that he may have discovered more than a dozen stars like Boyajian's star. The answer remains elusive in part because Boyajian's star seemed unique there were no known counterparts to provide additional clues that might help researchers solve this cosmic mystery. Still, scientists have not yet nailed down the precise cause of the odd dimming. The megastructure hypothesis is near the bottom of most astronomers' lists these days when it comes to Boyajian's star, however further analyses have pointed to more prosaic explanations, such as clouds of dust or comet fragments. (Science fiction often depicts Dyson spheres as solid shells around stars, but the megastructures also could be globular swarms of giant solar panels.) Mathematician and physicist Freeman Dyson suggested that such megastructures could help power an advanced civilization. Specifically, researchers have suggested that the star is surrounded by a Dyson sphere, a hypothetical megastructure that is built around a star to capture as much of its light as possible. ![]() These analyses of KIC 8462852 - now nicknamed "Boyajian's star" (formerly Tabby's star) after its discoverer - raised the possibility that astronomers had detected signs of intelligent alien life. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |