Strange astronomic structures around KIC 8462852

[Proteus_MST]

And we'll only have to wait a few thousand years to have our answer!

And have to maintain a civilization with a tech level till this time, that still is able to operate radio telescopes ...
and also have to "remember" that we sent out signals thousands of years ago, so that we can orient our own radio antennas at the right time, in order to receive any possible answers

[pchang]

I enjoyed reading Count to a Trillion: http://www.amazon.com/Count-Trillion.../dp/0765367459

[My Wife Hates CIV]

This is the most reasonable explanation i've read yet.

we're looking at an unfamiliar type of solar system, possibly including several giant, Jupiter-sized planets with orbits that take centuries to complete -- which would mean that it would take even more centuries to observe a regular pattern.

[Lorizael]

Problem with that idea is that transits of planets that far from the star are very rare.

[My Wife Hates CIV]

thats true but this is something different to start with. it is neat.

I like the idea of a dyson sphere around a white dwarf. at some distance where gravity is earth like. much smaller than anything around a main sequence star.

[My Wife Hates CIV]

but! if we did find a dyson sphere... what would that tell us? If a civilization has advanced enough to build something like this... why not just go to a new star? Could it mean traveling the great distances between stars is something that cant really be overcome? the distances are just too great.

[Lorizael]

thats true but this is something different to start with. it is neat.

Indeed.

I like the idea of a dyson sphere around a white dwarf. at some distance where gravity is earth like. much smaller than anything around a main sequence star.

Not sure what you're getting at here. On average, white dwarfs are denser, but less massive than main sequence stars, and hotter, but dimmer.

but! if we did find a dyson sphere... what would that tell us? If a civilization has advanced enough to build something like this... why not just go to a new star? Could it mean traveling the great distances between stars is something that cant really be overcome? the distances are just too great.

Not sure that's the right conclusion to draw. That's like saying... oil wells are evidence that Earthlings decided it was too hard to leave the desert.

[Donegeal]

but! if we did find a dyson sphere... what would that tell us? If a civilization has advanced enough to build something like this... why not just go to a new star? Could it mean traveling the great distances between stars is something that cant really be overcome? the distances are just too great.

Actually, it is because of this that I hope it turns out to be a natural phenomena. The alternative being that we may be stuck in our little solar system.

BTW- I always figured if someone was going to build a Dyson Sphere, they'd do it around a Red Dwarf.

[My Wife Hates CIV]

a dyson sphere around a white dwarf would require must less material. A white dwarf is stable for so long too.

but Donegeal's red dwarf is good too. they last trillions of years - is that not wild.

but the size of a dyson sphere around a star like ours... would require more material to build than there is in the solar system.

[My Wife Hates CIV]

"Actually, it is because of this that I hope it turns out to be a natural phenomena. The alternative being that we may be stuck in our little solar system."

i agree with this. it would be depressing to think that travel to the stars is basically impossible. but one thing is for sure - we dont appear to live on main street or downtown. it is pretty quiet here. perhaps this is all we humans will ever have, the solar system.

[Uncle Sparky]

...
BTW- I always figured if someone was going to build a Dyson Sphere, they'd do it around a Red Dwarf.

[Lorizael]

a dyson sphere around a white dwarf would require must less material.

Well, compared to what, I guess. Main sequence stars can get very big, but you can always choose smaller ones. You'd want to, anyway, because the smaller ones (like red dwarfs) live longer. But smaller (on the main sequence) also means cooler and dimmer, which means you're getting less energy. The mass of most white dwarfs and, say, the Sun are the same order of magnitude. And for a given mass, you'll get 1 g at the same distance. For a given surface gravity on your Dyson sphere, the area of that Dyson sphere is proportional to the mass of the enclosed star. So a white dwarf half as massive as the Sun would only require half as much material to enclose. Is that significant? /me shrugs.

I think stability is the best argument. White dwarfs don't blow up. Even red dwarfs do after a long time. But the trade-off is white dwarfs are always cooling, which means your Dyson sphere collects less and less energy over time. Main sequence stars get hotter and bigger as they grow old, which is good energy-wise, but then they go giant, which is bad living-wise.

[Proteus_MST]

Well, one thing´s for sure ... if the cause for the light fluctuations of KIC 8462852 is an artificial construct, it is definitely no (complete) Dyson sphere.
In this case it might rather be a set or swarm of huge solar satellites orbiting the star (and maybe retaining their close orbit around the sun via attitude thrusters)

[Dinner]

With the presence of liquid water on Mars, the discovery of water on the Moon, the distinct possibility of water on moons of both Jupiter and Saturn and what appears to be water on Pluto, I think we may not only discover life in the Solar system outside of Earth, but we will discover that it may be plentiful. Intelligence may be the rarity in the universe rather than life.

That is possible. Then again it might come down to the cloud which our solar system was made from just happened to have a lot of water in it.

[kentonio]

That is possible. Then again it might come down to the cloud which our solar system was made from just happened to have a lot of water in it.

But given that there are trillions of stars in the universe, the odds that ours happened to have significantly more water than many others is incredible unlikely.