A team of scientists have concluded that something else and less interesting could be the reason behind star KIC 8462852,’s bizarre dimming. Researchers from Iowa State University believe that the dimming star’s light curve could have been caused by the loss of a family comet. The hope for alien enthusiasts is not lost. Scientists have stressed that the most probable explanation is the demise of a family comets, however they didn’t consider the possibility of an alien megastructure. There were many explanations initially for the 22% dimming in KIC 8462852.. There were many theories about the 22% dimming of KIC 8462852. Some speculated that it could be caused by an asteroid collision, while others thought there might have been a large impact on a nearby planet. Others wondered if a group of comets had broken apart or if perhaps there was a cloud of dust and rocks. Artist’s rendering of the star and the comet. Scientists think KIC 8462852”s strange light signals may be caused by comet fragments that block the star from receiving light. Image: Iowa State University. The theory of an astroengineering project got everyone excited. Scientists around the globe said that they couldn’t discount the possibility that dimming could have been caused by super-intelligent extraterrestrials creating an astroengineering program. Astro-engineering projects are structures that have a minimum size comparable to the planet. Many scientists and others wondered if a Dyson Swarm around a star might cause it to dim in such an unusual way. Dyson Swarm is also called Dyson Sphere. It’s a hypothetical megastructure that surrounds a star, and takes much of the power it produces. Dyson Swarm was created after Freeman John Dyson, an English mathematician/theoretical physicist (born 1923).). One of his quotes was “One should expect that within a few thousands years of it entering the stage of industrial advancement, any intelligent species will be found occupying a artificial biosphere which complete surrounds its parent Star.” This is an artist’s impression. A Dyson Swarm, an alien megastructure that surrounds a star, harnesses its power, is a term that he once used. Massimo Marengo is an associate professor of physics at Iowa State University. He was intrigued to learn about the star discovered by Planet Hunters citizens scientists. These citizen scientists were highlighting the brightening of the star that NASA’s Kepler spacecraft had recorded. A planet may be passing right in front of the star by causing a slight dimming. This is why Kepler scientists, as well citizen scientists who use the Internet to analyze light curves from stars, are looking for exoplanets. KIC 8462852, however, was quite intriguing. The brightness of the star changed by 22%,, and it also fluctuated irregularly for several months. Kepler’s 150,000+ star database was searched by scientists and they found no similar results. Professor Marengo and Alan Hulsebus (an Iowa State doctoral student) decided to examine KIC8462852 with data from NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope’s Infrared Array Camera. The Astrophysical Journal Letters published their results. It is possible that only one comet remains. The authors write: “The scenario where the dimming of the KIC8462852 light curve was caused by the destruction a family comets remains preferred explanation.” Prof. Marengo, his colleagues and others studied the star using Spitzer infrared data starting in January of this year. This was two years after Kepler measurements. They didn’t see much. Extra infrared emission would have been a result of any catastrophe close to the star. Researchers looked at both the short and long wavelengths of infrared light. The shorter wavelength was consistent with the typical star. However, the longer spectrum showed infrared emission, but not enough to detect the threshold. According to the authors, there was no excessive infrared emission. There was no evidence of an asteroid collision, dusty clouds of rock and debris, or massive impacts on any planets. The most probable explanation for KIC’s unusually dimming 8462852 is the loss of several comet families close to the star. A large cloud of debris could be created by fragments from the comets coming at high speed in an elliptical orbit. This would allow them to dimm the star. After the cloud moved away, star brightness would return to normal, with no excess infrared radiation. What about the possibility of an alien megastructure Professor Marengo stated that they didn’t search for it. It’s impossible to say if it is or not. The star’s behavior is quite bizarre. This is a very interesting phenomenon. Usually, it indicates that there are new concepts or physical explanations. Astrophysical Journal Letters Volume 814, No 1. 19 November, 2015.
