Tag: Dyson sphere

Bizarre Blinking Space Lights ‘Could be Evidence of Extraterrestrials’

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Article by Tom Fish                              December 17, 2019                                   (express.co.uk)

• Beatriz Villarroel of Stockholm University in Sweden is one of the authors of a recent study published in The Astronomical Journal about the discovery of a hundred or so blinking lights in space as well as number of vanishing and reappearing objects spotted among the stars which are puzzling researchers. According to the study paper, “The implications of finding such objects extend from traditional astrophysics fields to the more exotic searches for evidence of technologically advanced civilizations”.

• The scientists examined images of the sky dating as far back as the 1950s. They compared them with modern sky surveys looking for physical indicators including stars that apparently vanished from the Milky Way. Villarroel noted that, “Finding an actually vanishing star – or a star that appears out of nowhere would be a precious discovery and certainly would include new astrophysics beyond the one we know of today.”

• Dying stars will change very slowly to become a white dwarf, or will die with a sudden explosion as a supernova. A “failed supernova” is what happens when a very massive star collapses into a black hole without sending out any kind of explosion and vanishes. But failed supernovas are very rare. A vanishing star would likely indicate some other process entirely.

• Non-natural explanations include intelligent alien lasers for communication between stars, or a Dyson sphere which is a structure that alien civilizations build around a star to harness its energy. The scientists believe the anomalies likely originate from “natural, if somewhat extreme, astrophysical sources.”

 

Astronomers are investigating bizarre blinking lights in space for indications they are evidence of alien super-structures or ”interstellar communication lasers”. A

           Beatriz Villarroel

number of vanishing and reappearing objects have been spotted among the stars are puzzling the researchers attempting to understand what they are.

Scientists believe the lights likely originate from “natural, if somewhat extreme, astrophysical sources”.

However, have yet to find any explanation after discovering one hundred of the strange lights.

Whatever scientists find it likely to change our understanding of space, with astronomers announcing the research could potentially usher in a “new astrophysics”.

The study’s authors wrote in The Astronomical Journal: “The implications of finding such objects extend from traditional astrophysics fields to the more exotic searches for evidence of technologically advanced civilisations”.

The scientists examined publicly available images of the sky dating as far back as the 1950s, such as old military sky catalogues.

They compared those historical observations with modern sky surveys looking for physical indicators including stars that apparently vanished from the Milky Way.

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NASA’s Kepler Telescope Discovers a Colossal Artificial Structure Orbiting a Star in Our Vicinity

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Article by Steve                      October 15, 2015                      (ufoholic.com)

•  A paper submitted by Tabitha Boyajian, an astronomer at Yale, to the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society (in 2015) described a particular star named KIC 8462852 orbiting only 1,500 light years from Earth. “… KIC 8462852 (aka “Tabby’s Star”), was observed by the Kepler Space Telescope (image above) to undergo irregularly shaped, aperatic dips in flux down to below the twenty percent level.” “We’d never seen anything like this star. It was really weird. (But the data) checked out.”

• The study mostly focused on two interesting anomalies of the star. The first event was recorded between days 788 and 795 of the Kepler mission and showed a single transit causing a star brightness drop-off of 15 percent. The second event was recorded between days 1510 to 1570 and showed a burst of several transits with a brightness dip of up to 22 percent. The transiting objects have to be extremely big.

• Scientists are now trying to point a radio antenna at KIC 8462852 in order to pick up their television shows to solve the riddle. Meanwhile, a second paper is being drafted around the possibility of the light obstruction being caused a colossal artificial device engineered by advanced aliens.

• Considering that our galaxy has existed for more than 13 billion years, it’s not hard to imagine that an alien civilization may be out there, possessing technology that allows them to build megastructures around stars. Jason Wright, a fellow astronomer at Penn State said, “This looked like something you would expect an alien civilization to build.” Researchers are hypothesizing the possibility of a mega-engineered project created by a Type 2 alien civilization on the Kardashev scale. With a vast shell or series of rings surrounding a star, a Dyson sphere-like structure could use all the available energy radiating from a star.

 

Besides Kepler’s ability of finding small, rocky worlds orbiting distant stars, it can also detect different space phenomenon like stellar flares, star spots and dusty planetary rings.

This time however, Kepler detected the signal of a supposed vast artificial structure orbiting a star only 1,500 light years away from Earth.

After finishing all plausible explanations, scientists now believe that this complex structure might be an artificial construction made by an advanced alien civilization way up on the Kardashev scale of comparison.

This megastructure works like a supersized solar array orbiting around its host star, stocking the energy and sending it back to the source. The size of the structure is so grand that it’s blocking a considerable fraction of starlight as it spins around its host.

Normally all the exoplanets discovered by Kepler have a typical planet-shape, meaning they are round. This time however, the telescope detected something that isn’t round and behaves unnatural.

A paper has been submitted to the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society in which a particular star named KIC 8462852 is described.

OVER THE DURATION OF THE KEPLER MISSION, KIC 8462852 WAS OBSERVED TO UNDERGO IRREGULARY SHAPED, APERIODIC DIPS IN FLUX DOWN TO BELOW THE TWENTY PERCENT LEVEL.

WE’D NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE THIS STAR, IT WAS REALLY WEIRD. WE THOUGHT IT MIGHT BE BAD DATA OR MOVEMENT ON THE SPACECRAFT, BUT EVERYTHING CHECKED OUT. – TABETHA BOYAJIAN, RESEARCHER AT YALE UNIVERSITY

Studies mostly focused on two interesting anomalies at KIC 8462852, one that was recorded between days 788 and 795 of the Kepler mission and between days 1510 to 1570.

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What Is a Dyson Sphere?

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Article by Adam Mann                       August 1, 2019                     (space.com)

• In 1960, British-American theoretical physicist Freeman Dyson theorized that as an intelligent alien species’ population increased by 1% per year, their energy needs would grow exponentially becoming a trillion times larger in just 3,000 years. After developing and saturating the local moons and planets in their solar system, they may embark on a longer-term solution: The Dyson sphere.

• A Dyson sphere is a structure with platforms orbiting in tight formation that surrounds and encloses a larger celestial body, such as a gas giant planet like Jupiter or the system’s star itself, like a shell. Such an artificial structure would offer plenty of living space and energy production, drawing from the gas planet or star’s radiation. But as the Dyson sphere absorbed radiation, thereby dimming the planet from an outside observer’s perspective, Dyson theorized that the structure would need to re-radiate this energy through infrared wavelengths to avoid melting the structure itself. Therefore, a Dyson sphere would emit a bright signature in the infrared spectrum while being invisible to the human eye.

• This infrared radiation is considered a type of ‘technosignature’ that astronomers can use to detect an advanced civilization. Since the 1960’s, researchers have scanned infrared maps of the night sky in hopes of spotting a Dyson sphere, without success. But in 2015, Yale University astronomer Tabetha Boyajian did find a distant star that dimmed and flickered. Astronomers speculated that “Tabby’s Star” could be a partially built Dyson sphere. Because other astronomical experiments could not find other technosignatures from the star, scientists now think the object’s light patterns have some kind of non-alien explanation.

• In 1937, Olaf Stapledon first described a “gauze of light traps” surrounding a star system to utilize its solar energy in his novel “Star Maker”. Freeman Dyson acknowledged that this sparked his concept of a Dyson sphere. In 1992, a Dyson sphere was depicted in an episode of “Star Trek: The Next Generation”.

 

A Dyson sphere is a theoretical mega-engineering project that encircles a star with platforms orbiting in tight formation. It is the ultimate solution for living space and energy production, providing its creators ample surface area for habitation and the ability to capture every bit of solar radiation emanating from their central star.

Why build a Dyson sphere?

          Freeman Dyson

Why would anyone construct such a bizarre monstrosity? According to British-American theoretical physicist Freeman Dyson, who first speculated about these putative structures in 1960, an intelligent alien species might consider the undertaking after settling on some moons and planets in their local stellar neighborhood. As their population increased, these extraterrestrials would start to consume ever-greater amounts of energy.

Assuming this alien society’s populace and industry grew at a modest 1% per year, Dyson’s calculations suggested that the aliens’ area and energy needs would grow exponentially, becoming a trillion times larger in just 3,000 years. Should their solar system contain a Jupiter-size body, the species’ engineers could try to figure out how to take the planet apart and spread its mass in a spherical shell.

              Tabetha Boyajian

By building structures at twice the Earth-sun distance, the material would be sufficient to construct a huge number of orbiting platforms 6 to 10 feet (2 to 3 meters) thick, allowing the aliens to live on their star-facing surface. “A shell of this thickness could be made comfortably habitable, and could contain all the machinery required for exploiting the solar radiation falling onto it from the inside,” Dyson wrote.

But after absorbing and exploiting the solar energy, the structure would eventually have to reradiate the energy or else it would build up, causing the sphere to eventually melt, according to Dyson. This means that, to a distant observer, the light of a star wrapped in a Dyson sphere might appear dimmed or even entirely darkened — depending on how dense the orbiting platforms were — while glowing curiously bright in infrared wavelengths that aren’t visible to the naked eye.

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Could a Dyson Sphere Harness the Full Power of the Sun?

by Seeker                  February 24, 2019                   (seeker.com)

• Physicist Freeman Dyson popularized the concept of a structure soaking up 100 % of a star’s (like our Sun) and converting it into useful energy, known as a Dyson Sphere. Dyson claimed that looking for signs of massive structures capturing the power of a host star in distant solar systems could lead us to advanced extraterrestrial civilizations.

• Some believe that aliens might already be using a Dyson Sphere on a mysterious dimming star known as Tabby’s star, theorizing that the dimming is a sign of a structure surrounding the star. Other astronomers say that the dimming is likely just caused by dust.

• But astro-engineers say that a Sun-encircling sphere would be impractical, as the environmental and gravitational stresses of a solid structure around the Sun would certainly destroy the shell, even if we had the materials needed to do it. They suggest that the answer may be a ‘Dyson Swarm’ – a large number of advanced solar panels orbiting the Sun, capturing its light from all directions, and continuously transmitting the energy back to Earth.

• Futurists say building a Dyson Swarm would require extreme measures like mining Mercury for materials – eventually destroying that planet. But a successfully implemented Dyson Swarm could extend humanity’s survival in the solar system and provide the power needed to colonize other planets.

 

In a thought experiment, Physicist Freeman Dyson popularized the concept of a structure that could trap 100 percent of a star’s energy. Dyson claimed that advanced civilizations or extraterrestrials might use massive structures to capture the power of their host star. He said that looking for signs of these structures would lead us to other lifeforms. This concept inspired what later became known as a Dyson Sphere – a hypothetical megastructure that would surround the Sun, soaking up its light and converting it into useful energy.

Today, there are a few different Dyson inspired designs. The classic Dyson Shell, for instance, is often portrayed in sci-fi works. The solid structure, the size of a planetary orbit, contains solar habitats, each powered by their host star’s light. But this megastructure would be impossible for humanity to pull off due to the fact that the materials needed to build it don’t exist. On top of that, environmental and gravitational stresses of the Sun would destroy the shell.

Instead, some astro engineers believe a Dyson Swarm is the most practical design for our solar system. This concept would require the construction of an army of advanced solar panels which would orbit the Sun, capturing its light from all directions. The solar panels would collect the Sun’s radiation and continuously transmit the energy wirelessly back to Earth. Still, futurists say building a Dyson Swarm would require extreme measures like mining Mercury for materials – eventually destroying the planet. But if we manage to successfully create a sun sucking megastructure, it will extend humanity’s survival in the solar system and provide the power needed to colonize other planets. Considering all the advanced technology needed to make this happen though, it will be a very long time until any sort of Dyson Sphere takes the leap from science fiction to reality.

But, like Freeman Dyson, some people believe that aliens might already be using Dyson Sphere-like structures. And they point to a mysterious dimming star – known as Tabby’s Star – as potential evidence. Believers say that the dimming is a sign of a structure surrounding the star. While many astronomers say that the dimming is likely just caused by dust. But in the far-fetched chance that there is an advanced civilization out there soaking up all the energy in the universe, let’s just hope that they’ll use their power for good, not evil.

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Alien ‘Artifacts’ Made By Civilizations From Mars or Venus Could Be Hidden On Earth, NASA Study Suggests

by Jasper Hamill                     December 26, 2018                     (metro.co.uk)

• Dozens of NASA space scientists teamed up to explore how our species could detect ‘technosignatures’, ie: the name for pieces of evidence which give away the presence of advanced alien civilizations – radio waves are detected coming from a distant star system, or Dyson Sphere ‘megastructure’ power stations surrounding a star in order to harvest its’ energy, for example.

• A November 28, 2018 NASA report entitled “NASA and the Search for Technosignatures” suggests that the truth about extraterrestrials could be lurking right under our noses. In a new report, scientists suggest that our own planet may be hiding alien ‘artifacts’, some of which may even have been built by extinct civilizations who lived on Mars, Venus or even Earth.

• ‘Because the geological, paleontological, and archaeological records on Earth are so incomplete, it is even possible that the Earth itself hosts such (extraterrestrial) artifacts, although, again, this idea is often conflated with unscientific popular imaginings and science fiction stories about alien visitation, and so must be approached carefully,’ the NASA researchers wrote.

• The report continues, ‘If technosignatures were discovered in the solar system, it would be worth considering whether their origin might not be interstellar. Specifically, since the Earth is home to the only known species capable of interstellar communication and planetary travel (although both technologies remain in their early development), the Earth remains the only known planet fecund enough to promote technological life, and so it or an early, habitable Mars or Venus could even be the origin of such technology.’

• The NASA report noted that ‘Technosignatures in the solar system might come in the form of free-floating probes or structures—either passing through the solar system or in orbit around the Sun or other body—or in the form of structures or other signs of technologies on planetary surfaces.’

• So far, the only potential alien artifact we’ve seen has been ‘Oumuamua’, the first ‘interstellar visitor’ to be observed in our stellar neighborhood after traveling here in 2017 through deep space. Still, most scientists believe its origins are natural rather than artificial. Oumuamua changed direction as it passed the sun, which may have been caused by a natural process called outgassing – although there is a very slight chance this could have been the result of it being steered somehow.  (see previous ExoNews article on the Oumuamua visitor here)

 

You might think that humanity’s best chance of finding alien life involves peering deep into space and analysing faraway galaxies.

But a Nasa study has suggested the truth about extraterrestrials could be lurking right under our noses.

Dozens of space scientists have teamed up to explore how our species could detect ‘technosignatures’, the name for pieces of evidence which give away the presence of advanced alien civilisations.

Some of these tell-tale signs are obvious. For instance, if loads of radio waves are detected coming from a distant star system, then it could be a clue which shows it’s inhabited by intelligent extraterrestrial organisms.

We could also search for alien societies by looking for ‘megastructures’ called Dyson Spheres, which are theoretical power stations built surrounding a star to harvest its energy.

These would be easy to spot because they are likely to be gigantic and block out starlight whenever they pass in front of their sun.

Other technosignatures are harder to identify, such as evidence that a planet has been polluted by heavy industry.

In the new report, scientists also make the fascinating suggestion that our own planet may be hiding alien ‘artefacts’, some of which may even have been built by extinct civilisations which lived on Mars, Venus or even Earth.

‘Because the geological, paleontological, and archaeological records on Earth are so incomplete, it is even possible that the Earth itself hosts such artefacts, although, again, this idea is often conflated with unscientific popular imaginings and science fiction stories about alien visitation, and so must be approached carefully,’ researchers wrote.

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Strange Twinkling Star Detected

Space                  November 18, 2018                    (earth-chronicles.com)

• Astronomers have discovered a strange flickering star, resembling a Tabby star, in which case an alien mega-structure was supposed to be present, like a Dyson sphere. (see previous ExoNews article on the Tabby Star)

• The behavior of the new star is not associated with aliens. However, astronomer Roberto Saito of the Federal University of Santa Catarina in Florianópolis, Brazil, argues that it is extremely unusual. “We don’t know what the object is,” says Saito. “And this is interesting.”

• Saito and his colleagues were looking for supernovae and found a star flashing brightly. Then the star suddenly faded. From 2010 to 2018, the brightness of the star either increased, then decreased, without any regularity, reminiscent of Tabbi’s star. The team named the object VVV-WIT-07 (WIT is an abbreviation of “What is this?”).

• A team of astronomers intend to continue observing the star using larger telescopes like the 8.1-meter Gemini or ALMA telescope located in Chile.

• [Editor’s Note] Tabby’s Star is named after Tabetha Boyajian, the Louisana State University astrophysicist who discovered it on 2015. The stars luminosity changes, leading to speculation that it may be surrounded by anything from space debris to an alien-made Dyson sphere megastructure surrounding the star and harvesting its energy for space travel, manufacturing or other energy-consuming activities.

 

Astronomers who looked for supernovae, found an object that behaves more amazing than the star Tabbi.

Astronomers have discovered a strange flickering star, resembling a Tabby star, in which case an alien mega-structure was supposed to be present, like a Dyson sphere.

The idea of a megastructure, first proposed in 2015, was later refuted by data suggesting that the strange flickering is due to dust particles obscuring the star’s light. The behavior of the new star, it seems, is also not associated with aliens. However, astronomer Roberto Saito of the Federal University of Santa Catarina in Florianópolis, Brazil, argues that it is extremely unusual. Together with his colleagues, the scientist wrote an article about it, published in the arXiv.org preprint database.

“We don’t know what the object is,” says Saito. “And this is interesting.”

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