The merged and improved (?) KIC 8462852 thread

[Dryson]

http://m.space.com/30832-kepler-telescope-alien-megastructure.html

The research paper is thorough, describing the phenomenon, pointing out that this star is unique - we've seen nothing like it. Kepler has collected data on this star steadily for four years. It's not instrumental error. Kepler isn't seeing things; the signal is real.

At first it was thought a swarm of comets. But if that were true the comets would have to be very large and close to the sun in order to be seen. That close in order to effect the sun would mean that the comets would have vaporized thousands of years ago.

It can't be a planet as Kepler would have already determined it to have been a planet .

So what do you think it is?

Hoping for all hopes I am thinking that it is in fact an alien megastructure or at least the floating debris of a structure.

 

[Mudd]

Re: Has Kepler Discovered An Alien Megastructure?

It's just a bunch of random crap in space. Sorry.

 

[Asbo Zaprudder]

Re: Has Kepler Discovered An Alien Megastructure?

I want to believe but my inner Scully tells me it's probably a natural phenomenon.

 

[Melakon]

Re: Has Kepler Discovered An Alien Megastructure?

A Borg transwarp hub.

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

Re: Has Kepler Discovered An Alien Megastructure?

The beginnings of a D(r)yson sphere???

 

[BillJ]

Re: Has Kepler Discovered An Alien Megastructure?

It's just a bunch of random crap in space. Sorry.

I would love for it to be more than that, but I just don't think it is.

 

[hux]

Re: Has Kepler Discovered An Alien Megastructure?

Death Star?

 

[Silvercrest]

Re: Has Kepler Discovered An Alien Megastructure?

That's no moon.

 

[arch101]

Re: Has Kepler Discovered An Alien Megastructure?

That's no moon.

HA!

 

[Maurice]

Re: Has Kepler Discovered An Alien Megastructure?

They're still trying to suss out the reason the star dims as it does. Hell, it could be a bunch of asteroid debris from a recent(ish) planetary collision.

 

[MANT!]

Re: Has Kepler Discovered An Alien Megastructure?

Yes, but wouldn't it be cool, if we OPTICALLY found other civilizations, I hear they are training a radio telescope on it soon to see if signals are present..if any are found, the plan is to use the VLA to give that system a good look...

 

[HIjol]

Re: Has Kepler Discovered An Alien Megastructure?

hmmm...


"The D800 event appears to have been a single transit causing a star brightness drop-off of 15 percent, whereas D1500 was a burst of several transits, possibly indicating a clump of different objects, forcing a brightness dip of up to 22 percent. To cause such dips in brightness, these transiting objects must be huge."

Could it have been some transitory flash or photon burst or "flare" across Kepler's optics, causing the brightness to appear to dip, but in reality, it was a separate phenomenon?

A well known vector model of angular momentum is referred to as the


J-J Coupling

"In light atoms, the interactions between the orbital angular momenta of individual electrons is stronger than the spin-orbit coupling between the spin and orbital angular momenta. These cases are described by "L-S coupling". However, for heavier elements with larger nuclear charge, the spin-orbit interactions become as strong as the interactions between individual spins or orbital angular momenta. In those cases the spin and orbital angular momenta of individual electrons tend to couple to form individual electron angular momenta.



J sub1 = Lsub1 + Ssub1 J = Sigma sub 1 Jsub1
Jsub2 = Lsub2 + Ssub2


Another case where the overall L and S are decoupled is the case where there is a very strong external magnetic field is applied. This is called the Paschen-Back effect."*


Perhaps this could apply to Stellar Mechanics?

*SOURCE: http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/atomic/lcoup.html#c2

 

[Asbo Zaprudder]

Re: Has Kepler Discovered An Alien Megastructure?

The first dip lasted several days so the transit wasn't transitory.

The symmetry of the dips around day 1540 is highly suggestive of a central body surrounded by a ring system.

 

[mic of orion]

Re: Has Kepler Discovered An Alien Megastructure?

fascinating stuff, made a vid that indeed questions the possibility , very exciting discovery indeed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=guC86X_ybPc

 

[Kemaiku]

Re: Has Kepler Discovered An Alien Megastructure?

Likely planetary or proto-planetary debris from planets that formed and broke up or never fully formed, captured in the stars orbit and formed a ring of dense rocky material.

Interesting if that's the case, that some systems don't form correctly and the remaining mess from failed planets can form stellar rings.

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

Re: Has Kepler Discovered An Alien Megastructure?

Likely planetary or proto-planetary debris from planets that formed and broke up or never fully formed, captured in the stars orbit and formed a ring of dense rocky material.

Interesting if that's the case, that some systems don't form correctly and the remaining mess from failed planets can form stellar rings.

What are the odds we're seeing that system on it's plane?

 

[Asbo Zaprudder]

Re: Has Kepler Discovered An Alien Megastructure?

There's a web page for that:

http://certificate.ulo.ucl.ac.uk/modules/year_one/NASA_Kepler/character.html

The geometric probability P for observing a transit for any random planetary orbit is d*/2a, where d is the stellar diameter and a is the orbital radius.

For Earth and the Sun, d = 1,400,000 km, a = 150,000,000 km roughly so P = 0.0046 or 0.46%.

 

[Kemaiku]

Re: Has Kepler Discovered An Alien Megastructure?

Likely planetary or proto-planetary debris from planets that formed and broke up or never fully formed, captured in the stars orbit and formed a ring of dense rocky material.

Interesting if that's the case, that some systems don't form correctly and the remaining mess from failed planets can form stellar rings.

What are the odds we're seeing that system on it's plane?

A lot more likely than super aliens building useless bling around a star as some people are suggesting?

 

[PurpleBuddha]

Re: Has Kepler Discovered An Alien Megastructure?

Likely planetary or proto-planetary debris from planets that formed and broke up or never fully formed, captured in the stars orbit and formed a ring of dense rocky material.

Interesting if that's the case, that some systems don't form correctly and the remaining mess from failed planets can form stellar rings.

What are the odds we're seeing that system on it's plane?

A lot more likely than super aliens building useless bling around a star as some people are suggesting?

Technically we don't know the odds of the later.

 

[Amaris]

Re: Has Kepler Discovered An Alien Megastructure?

What are the odds we're seeing that system on it's plane?

A lot more likely than super aliens building useless bling around a star as some people are suggesting?

Technically we don't know the odds of the later.

If it did end up being highly advanced aliens, that would be awesome, but it's foolish for that to be among the first conclusions drawn regarding this anomaly.

The idea that "Odd formation = Advanced Alien Civilization" belongs with Giorgio Tsoukalos, not respected scientists. It's far, far too soon to even speculate, which makes the headlines proclaiming "Alien Structure?!" all the more absurd.