Astronomers have issued an internet-wide ‘call to action’ after discovering this morning that ‘Tabby’s Star’ has once again begun to dim.
The mysterious phenomenon was first detected in 2015, when a star in the constellation Cygnus was found to be ‘winking,’ with dramatic fluctuations in brightness – but, scientists aren’t quite sure what’s causing it.
Among several theories that have arisen, some experts have suggested that a rotating ‘alien megastructure’ known as a Dyson Sphere could be to blame.
Now, scientists are calling on observatories around the world to point their telescopes toward Tabby’s Star so they can gather new data as it moves through the dimming cycle.
ALERT: @tsboyajian’s star is dipping. This is not a drill,’ Jason Wright, Penn State Associate Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics tweeted Friday morning.
‘Astro tweeps on telescopes in the next 48 hours: spectra please!’
And, Tabetha Boyajian – the scientist for whom the star earned its nickname – tweeted ‘CALL TO ACTION!!,’ calling for instruments including NASA’s Kepler to observe the phenomenon.
According to Boyajian, the dip was at 2 percent as of Friday morning, and it ‘looks like it’s the start.’
This will offer scientists an extraordinary chance to measure the light from Tabby’s Star, officially called KIC 8462852, in efforts to uncover the mysterious cause behind the dimming.
Since it was first detected, scientists have been hard at work attempting to explain the fluctuations, which have seen brightness dip as much as 20 percent before reverting to normal.
If an ‘alien megastructure’ really is to blame, one scientist has suggested that spotting it could be relatively easy – as long as experts focus on the right places.
TABBY’S STAR
Tabby’s Star, known officially as KIC 8462852, has baffled experts since it was discovered in 2015.
Observations revealed its light dimmed regularly, as do distant stars when their planets pass in front of them.
But while the stars of most exoplanet systems are seen to dim by a few per cent, KIC 8462852 dimmed by more than 20 per cent over periods of months.
Some have claimed this dimming could be evidence of a Dyson Sphere – a hypothetical structure which could be used by an advanced alien race to harness the energy of a star.
Scientists remain skeptical, offering that the dimming could be explained by a dust ring around the star or a hail of comets passing in between the star and Earth.
MORE HERE: Mysterious ‘alien megastructure’ star is DIMMING again | Daily Mail Online
