Theory busted! Dust, not aliens, behind mysterious flickering star

The Tabby’s star – the most mysterious star in the universe – dims and brightens in an unusual manner due dust particles, say scientists who have debunked the theory that the cosmic body is being orbited by an alien megastructure. KIC 8462852, or “Tabby’s Star,” is about 50 per cent bigger and 1,000 degrees hotter than the Sun. It is more than 1,000 light years away.

However, it has been inexplicably dimming and brightening sporadically like no other. Several theories abound to explain the star’s unusual light patterns including an alien megastructure orbiting the star.
“Dust is most likely the reason why the star’s light appears to dim and brighten. The new data shows that different colours of light are being blocked at different intensities,” said Tabetha Boyajian, professor at the Louisiana State University in the US.

“Therefore, whatever is passing between us and the star is not opaque, as would be expected from a planet or alien megastructure,” said Boyajian. The mystery of Tabby’s Star is so compelling that more than 1,700 people donated over USD 100,000 through a crowdfunding campaign in support of dedicated ground-based telescope time to observe and gather more data on the star through a network of …read more