Was the KIC 8462852 Alien Megastructure Mystery Solved? Tabby's Star Update 9/3/16

TL;DR

KIC 8462852’s mystery was not solved, but a young star system viewed edge-on offered a plausible natural explanation for its unusual light dips. The theory draws on the similar light curve of EPIC 204278916, a star less than 11 million years old, yet it cannot explain Tabby’s Star’s century-long dimming or apparently old age. Read on to see how future spectrograph observations could distinguish solid objects from dust and gas.

Transcript

This is the third installment in my coverage series of the alien megastructure star mystery. For the backstory, check out my previous two videos on the subject. An interesting development has occurred in the KIC 8462852 or Tabby's Star story. A paper released a few days ago lays out an interesting theory that may finally give a satisfying natural e... Read More

Key Insights

• 🙂 The new theory proposes that the dips in Tabby's Star's light curve may have a natural explanation, but several issues, including the century-long dimming trend, remain unexplained.
• 🤩 EPIC 204278916, a recently discovered star, has a similar light curve to Tabby's Star due to being a young star system seen from an edge-on perspective.
• 🙂 Young star systems are usually loaded with dust, gas, and forming planets, resulting in erratic light curves similar to Tabby's Star.
• 🥶 The presence of debris disks in Tabby's Star contradicts its appearance of being old, which is one of the challenges for the new theory.
• 🙂 Further observations and spectrographs will be used to determine the nature of the objects blocking the light in Tabby's Star's light curve.
• 🤩 The mystery surrounding Tabby's Star may be solved if it can be demonstrated that the star appears older than it really is.
• 🙂 Scientists are actively monitoring Tabby's Star for any new dips in its light curve.

Questions & Answers

Q: Was the KIC 8462852 alien megastructure mystery solved?

No. A young star system viewed edge-on could naturally explain the irregular light dips, but the theory does not account for the century-long dimming trend or why Tabby’s Star appears very old. Until those problems are resolved, the transcript says alien megastructures cannot be eliminated as a cause.

Q: What natural explanation was proposed for the dips in Tabby’s Star?

The proposal is that Tabby’s Star may be a young star system whose uneven debris disc is viewed edge-on. Dust, gas, and forming planets in that disc could block varying amounts of starlight and create its erratic light curve.

Q: Why is EPIC 204278916 compared with KIC 8462852?

EPIC 204278916 has a light curve very similar to Tabby’s Star, although its dips are much deeper. Scientists have a natural explanation for its behavior: an uneven young-star disc seen from an edge-on perspective blocks the star’s light unevenly.

Q: Could EPIC 204278916 be another Dyson Sphere candidate?

The transcript says no because EPIC 204278916 is less than 11 million years old. That is described as far too little time for a technological civilization to evolve in the system, so its light dips are attributed to natural material around the young star.

Q: Why does an edge-on disc produce irregular light dips?

An edge-on viewing angle places the star’s uneven disc across the observer’s line of sight. Different concentrations of dust, gas, and forming planets therefore block different amounts of light, creating a noisy and irregular light curve.

Q: Why does the young-star theory struggle to explain Tabby’s Star?

Tabby’s Star appears to be very old, while old star systems should no longer have debris discs because that material would have condensed into planets and asteroids long before. The theory therefore requires Tabby’s Star to appear older than it really is.

Q: Does the theory explain Tabby’s Star’s century-long dimming?

No. The proposed edge-on young-star system may explain the individual dips, but the transcript says the overall century-long dimming trend remains a mystery.

Q: How could scientists determine what is blocking Tabby’s Star’s light?

Tabitha Boyajian and her colleagues are monitoring the star, although they had not yet observed another dip at the time described. When a dip occurs, spectrographs can be pointed at the star to determine whether the blocking material consists of solid objects or a cloud of dust and gas.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• A new theory proposes that the dips in Tabby's Star's light curve may be due to a young star system seen from an edge-on perspective, similar to a recently discovered star called EPIC 204278916.

• However, the theory fails to explain the century-long dimming trend observed in Tabby's Star and the appearance of being old, which contradicts the presence of debris discs that should have condensed into planets and asteroids in an older star system.

• Scientists are monitoring Tabby's Star for further observations, and spectrographs will be used to determine if the objects blocking the light are solid objects or simply a cloud of dust and gas.