{"id":12992,"date":"2016-08-04T21:35:06","date_gmt":"2016-08-05T01:35:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=12992"},"modified":"2016-08-04T21:35:06","modified_gmt":"2016-08-05T01:35:06","slug":"update-on-tabbys-star-i-e-the-alien-megastructure-star","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=12992","title":{"rendered":"Update on Tabby’s Star, i.e. the “Alien Megastructure Star”"},"content":{"rendered":"

A star displaying peculiar\u00a0light patterns was first noticed in Kepler space telescope data by a group of citizen scientists working in the Planet Hunters<\/a>\u00a0program. Their work convinced astronomer\u00a0Tabetha Boyajian<\/a>\u00a0to investigate star KIC 8462852, which is also known as Tabby\u2019s Star or the WTF star (\u2018Where\u2019s the Flux?\u2019),\u00a0in more detail. The\u00a0investigation by her group found the star to be quite an oddity. Boyajian is interviewed about it in this article:\u00a0How Astronomers Plan to Solve the Mystery of the “Alien Megastructure Star” – Out There\/Discover Magazine<\/a><\/p>\n

Tabby\u2019s Star is so unusual that a few scientists, including Boyajian\u2019s colleague\u00a0Jason Wright<\/a>, raised the possibility that its flickering is not natural but is due to the presence of an enormous artificial construct. That speculation quickly lent KIC 8462852 another nickname, the \u201calien megastructure star,\u201d and prompted a flood of breathless news stories; it even got a shout out on Saturday Night Live. Boyajian\u2019s subsequent TED lecture drew even more attention to her star.<\/em><\/p>\n

To obtain telescope time to study the star continuously for at least a year, a successful Kickstarter campaign raised $107,421:\u00a0The most mysterious star in the Galaxy by Tabetha Boyajian \u2014 Kickstarter<\/a>.<\/p>\n

From the interview:<\/p>\n

The plan is to observe the star through a full calendar year at the [private] Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network (LCOGT<\/a>). We\u00a0 have the funds to cover that, and a little bit more. We\u2019re observing now, running off time LCOGT has gifted us, 200 hours there. At the end of the summer, when the Kickstarter funds get transferred, we\u2019ll be able to set up the process through August and probably through December of 2017.<\/em><\/p>\n

We want to see the star\u2019s brightness dip again\u2014it\u2019s as simple as that. When it dips, how long the dips are, if there are many dips, all of the stuff relevant to any theory that\u2019s on the table. Also, we\u2019ll be able to get more detailed observations of whatever stuff is passing in front of the star, because we have a system to notify us when it\u2019s not at its normal brightness. LCOGT is set up so we can get a spectrum as soon as that trigger happens, and also more intense observations.<\/em><\/p>\n

These two videos from the Kickstarter campaign describe the star and their research plan:<\/p>\n