Kepler Space Telescope A star called KIC 8462852, known as "Tabby's Star", lying approximately 1500 light years away from Earth, is displaying a strange pattern of dimming. A long period of gradual fading has been punctuated by two dramatic drops in light, followed by instant rebounds, spaced nearly two years apart. Astronomers have already ruled out a number of natural explanations, leaving open the suggestion that the signals could be caused by giant structures built near the star by extraterrestrials—perhaps a giant array of orbiting solar panels.
Dramatic dimming of a distant star could be evidence of intelligent aliens
Location of KIC 8462852 in the constellation of CygnusThe unexplained signals have been detected by NASA’s Kepler Space Telescope, a spacecraft launched in 2009 to find planets in distant solar systems, called exoplanets. Kepler finds them by searching for the small dip in the light triggered whenever a planet passes in front of the star.
Q-files now has new sections specially written for younger readers. The subjects covered so far are: Living world, Earth, Science, Human body, Prehistoric life and Space.
Find the answer