The Mystery of KIC 8462852: Are Aliens Involved?

🌟The Kepler mission, launched in 2009, aimed to find planets outside our solar system by monitoring the brightness of over 150,000 stars for four years.

🔎Citizen scientists joined the Planet Hunters project to assist in analyzing Kepler data, utilizing their pattern recognition skills to spot anomalies missed by computers.

🌌KIC 8462852, also known as Tabby's Star, displayed dips in brightness that could not be attributed to known natural phenomena.

🌍One theory suggests the dimming is caused by a swarm of thousands of comets passing in front of the star.

🚀The possibility of advanced alien civilizations constructing megastructures, such as Dyson spheres, to harness star energy was also considered.

What is the Kepler mission?

—The Kepler mission, launched in 2009, aimed to find planets outside our solar system by monitoring the brightness of over 150,000 stars for four years.

How did citizen scientists contribute to the discovery?

—Citizen scientists joined the Planet Hunters project and analyzed Kepler data, using their pattern recognition skills to spot anomalies missed by computers.

What is KIC 8462852?

—KIC 8462852, also known as Tabby's Star, is a star that exhibits irregular patterns of dimming that cannot been explained by known natural phenomena.

What could be causing the dimming of Tabby's Star?

—One theory suggests the dimming is caused by a swarm of thousands of comets passing in front of the star. Another theory suggests the possibility of advanced alien civilizations constructing megastructures.

What are Dyson spheres?

—Dyson spheres are speculative megastructures that hypothetical advanced alien civilizations could build around stars to harness their energy.

00:12Astronomers discover a mysterious star, KIC 8462852, that exhibits irregular patterns of dimming.

00:48The Kepler mission was launched in 2009 to find planets outside our solar system by monitoring stars' brightness.

02:35Citizen scientists joined the Planet Hunters project to assist in analyzing Kepler data, spotting anomalies missed by computers.

05:40KIC 8462852, also known as Tabby's Star, displayed dips in brightness that could not be attributed to known natural phenomena.

07:17One theory suggests the dimming is caused by a swarm of thousands of comets passing in front of the star.

10:18The possibility of advanced alien civilizations constructing megastructures, such as Dyson spheres, to harness star energy was also considered.

12:20Further observations are needed to determine the cause of the irregular patterns of dimming in Tabby's Star.

12:52Amateur astronomers are actively observing Tabby's Star to contribute to the ongoing research.