KIC 8462852 Alien Megastructure Star Update 9/3/16 Mystery Solved? | Summary and Q&A

TL;DR

A new theory suggests that the dips in the light curve of Tabby's Star may be caused by a young star system seen from an edge-on perspective, but the century-long dimming trend and the star's appearance of being old still remain a mystery.

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.

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

Questions & Answers

Q: What is the new theory regarding the dips in Tabby's Star's light curve?

The new theory suggests that the dips in Tabby's Star's light curve are caused by a young star system seen from an edge-on perspective, similar to a recently discovered star called EPIC 204278916.

Q: What is the major issue that the new theory fails to explain?

The new theory does not explain the century-long dimming trend observed in Tabby's Star, which remains a mystery.

Q: Why does Tabby's Star appear to be old despite the presence of debris disks?

In older star systems, debris disks should have condensed into planets and asteroids, but Tabby's Star still shows signs of debris disks, which implies it appears older than it actually is.

Q: How are scientists planning to further investigate Tabby's Star?

Scientists are monitoring Tabby's Star for future dips in its light curve, and when observed, spectrographs will be used to determine if the objects blocking the light are 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.