The most mysterious star in the universe | Tabetha Boyajian | Summary and Q&A

TL;DR

This content discusses the discovery of a mysterious star and the possible explanations, including the involvement of aliens.

Key Insights

• 🔭 NASA's Kepler mission, launched in 2009, aimed to find planets outside of our solar system by monitoring the brightness of over 150,000 stars continuously for four years, with data points taken every 30 minutes.
• 🌟 The citizen science project called Planet Hunters, which enlisted help from over 300,000 science enthusiasts, discovered dozens of planets and one of the most mysterious stars in our galaxy.
• 🌌 The mysterious star, KIC 8462852, exhibited unusual transit signals, lasting weeks instead of hours, with an asymmetric shape that suggested the presence of something non-circular blocking the starlight.
• 💡 Natural explanations for the strange signals, such as the star being young or collisions between planets, did not fully align with the observations.
• 💫 One hypothesis suggested a massive swarm of comets passing by the star in an elliptical orbit, which would require thousands to tens of thousands of comets to explain the observations.
• 👽 Alien megastructures, such as Dyson spheres, were another possible explanation for the observed anomalies, but the lack of observed heat made this explanation less plausible.
• 🔬 Further observations of the star and exploration of alternative explanations are needed, and amateur astronomers have taken up the task of observing the star nightly with their backyard telescopes.
• 🌌 The discovery of another star exhibiting similar strange signals would have significant implications, as would the absence of such discoveries. New missions are set to observe millions more stars, providing more data for exploration.

Transcript

Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence, and it is my job, my responsibility, as an astronomer to remind people that alien hypotheses should always be a last resort. Now, I want to tell you a story about that. It involves data from a NASA mission, ordinary people and one of the most extraordinary stars in our galaxy. It began in 2009 wi... Read More

Questions & Answers

Q: What was the main objective of NASA's Kepler mission?

The main objective of NASA's Kepler mission was to find planets outside of our solar system.

Q: How did the Kepler mission search for planets?

The Kepler mission searched for planets by continuously monitoring the brightness of over 150,000 stars in a single field in the sky for four years, looking for transits where a planet crosses in front of a star, causing a dip in the star's brightness.

Q: How did the citizen science project called Planet Hunters contribute to the search for planets?

The citizen science project called Planet Hunters allowed ordinary people to look at the same data as the Kepler mission and use their amazing ability for pattern recognition to search for transits that computers might have missed.

Q: What did the citizen scientists discover when analyzing the data from the star KIC 8462852?

The citizen scientists discovered a mysterious signal from the star KIC 8462852 that did not resemble the transits caused by planets. The dips in the star's brightness lasted for longer periods and had asymmetric shapes, indicating that something other than a planet was blocking the starlight.

Q: What are some of the natural explanations that have been proposed to explain the strange dips in the star's brightness?

Some of the natural explanations proposed include the star being very young and still surrounded by material it was born from, collisions between planets in the star's system, or a swarm of comets passing by the star in an elliptical orbit.

Q: How did the possibility of alien megastructures come into the discussion?

The possibility of alien megastructures came into the discussion when a colleague suggested that with Kepler's precision, it could detect such structures. The strange data from the star KIC 8462852 prompted researchers to consider the idea that advanced civilizations could be using ginormous structures called Dyson spheres to capture energy from their host star.

Q: Can alien megastructures fully explain the anomalies observed in the star's brightness?

Although alien megastructures provide a fascinating explanation for the anomalies observed in the star's brightness, they still need to comply with the laws of physics. The absence of observed heat from the structures raises doubts about their existence, although it is possible that the heat is being reradiated away from Earth.

Q: What is the next step in understanding the mystery of the star KIC 8462852?

The next step is to continue observing the star and gathering more data to learn more about what is happening. Citizen scientists and amateur astronomers have stepped up to observe the star nightly with their own telescopes, and future missions observing millions of stars are expected to provide even more data.

Summary

In this talk, the speaker discusses the discovery of a mysterious star known as KIC 8462852 through the NASA Kepler mission and the involvement of citizen scientists in analyzing the data. The star exhibits irregular and significant drops in brightness that cannot be easily explained by natural phenomena. The speaker explores various hypotheses, including the possibility of alien megastructures or interplanetary space battles, but ultimately leans towards a natural explanation. The importance of continued observations and the role of citizen scientists in further exploration are highlighted.

Questions & Answers

Q: What was the main objective of NASA's Kepler mission?

NASA's Kepler mission aimed to find planets outside of our solar system by monitoring the brightness of over 150,000 stars continuously for four years, looking for transit events when a planet crosses in front of a star and causes a dip in its brightness.

Q: What led astronomers at Yale to launch the citizen science project Planet Hunters?

Astronomers at Yale launched the citizen science project Planet Hunters to allow ordinary people to analyze the Kepler mission data, as they believed the human brain's pattern recognition abilities could potentially find transits that computers might miss.

Q: How did the discovery of the mysterious star KIC 8462852 come about?

Citizen scientists participating in the Planet Hunters project noticed a mysterious signal coming from the star KIC 8462852. This star exhibited irregular and extended drops in brightness, unlike typical transit events, sparking curiosity among the researchers.

Q: What were some peculiar characteristics of the transits caused by KIC 8462852?

The transits caused by KIC 8462852 lasted longer than usual, with some lasting almost a week, and had an asymmetrical shape. Unlike typical circular dips caused by planets, these dips had a strange slope, indicating that the blocking object was not a planet.

Q: How did the brightness of KIC 8462852 change over time?

The brightness of KIC 8462852 showed a significant drop of 15% in March 2011, which was much larger than the usual 1% drop caused by a planet transit. In subsequent observations, there were complex and variable dips that lasted for up to 100 days, with brightness reductions of over 20%.

Q: What were some initial theories proposed to explain the unusual behavior of KIC 8462852?

Proposed theories included the presence of a young star with surrounding material, a collision between two planets, or a swarm of comets passing in an elliptical orbit. However, these theories faced challenges such as the star's lack of signs of youth or the absence of expected dust glow.

Q: How did the idea of alien megastructures come about?

The speaker presented the idea that the irregular light curve of KIC 8462852 could potentially be explained by the existence of alien megastructures known as Dyson spheres. These structures, like gigantic solar panels, would capture energy from the star to meet the energy needs of an advanced civilization.

Q: How did the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) become involved in the investigation of KIC 8462852?

The speaker and colleagues collaborated with a researcher from SETI, convincing them that KIC 8462852 was an extraordinary target for observation. A proposal was submitted to observe the star using the world's largest radio telescope at the Green Bank Observatory.

Q: Are there any physical limitations or challenges associated with the existence of alien megastructures?

The speaker acknowledges that the existence of alien megastructures, despite potentially explaining the light curve, would still need to adhere to the laws of physics. The lack of observed heat radiation from the structures poses a challenge, but it is possible that the heat is redirected away from Earth.

Q: What are the future prospects for observing and understanding KIC 8462852?

Continued observations of KIC 8462852 are vital to gather more data and explore potential explanations further. While professional astronomers have limited resources, citizen scientists and amateur astronomers have actively engaged in observing the star, contributing to ongoing research. New missions observing millions of other stars offer exciting possibilities for discoveries.

Takeaways

The discovery of the mysterious star KIC 8462852 showcases the importance of citizen scientists and their unique contributions in astronomical research. While hypotheses such as alien megastructures capture the imagination, scientists still lean towards natural explanations. Constant observation and collaboration between professional astronomers and citizen scientists are crucial in unraveling the mysteries of the universe and potentially making groundbreaking discoveries.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• The speaker discusses the discovery of a mysterious star called KIC 8462852 and the anomalies in its light curve, which cannot be explained by natural phenomena.

• The possibility of alien megastructures, such as Dyson spheres, is considered as a potential explanation for the unusual data.

• Citizen scientists played a crucial role in the discovery, and further observation of the star is needed to gather more information.