ALL SCI-FI

[Gord Green]

If there are any technologically advanced cultures in our galaxy, they are EXTREMELY rare. However, we know that there is at least ONE....us!

Recent observations have pointed to at least one other possibility.

A far-away star exhibiting strange fluctuations in its light that's intrigued astronomers for nearly a year has now been found to be dimming in just as dramatic a fashion, reports say.

The star, KIC 8462852 — nicknamed "Tabby's Star" after one of its co-founders Tabetha Boyajian — which is 1,480 light-years away and was observed by NASA's Kepler mission, set off speculation last October when Yale scientists found an unusual transit signal, known as a "light curve," Seeker reports.

Something passed in front of the star, dimming its light by 20 percent, Seeker reports; speculation focused on the possibility of a swarm of comets passing in front of the star, or a debris cloud from a planetary smashup.

But Penn State University astronomer Jason Wright speculated, in an interview with the Atlantic, the peculiar signals could indicate an "alien megastructure" in the process of being built.

It was the findings of astronomers Ben Montet from Caltech and and Joshua Simon from the Carnegie Institute — detailing observations of the star since the Kepler space telescope was launched in 2009 — that found yet another surprise, Seeker notes.

The pair found the star showed an unprecedented dimming of 3.5 percent over the period — something not seen in any of the other 500 stars in the vicinity.

What are your thoughts on the probability that this could be evidence of an advanced civilization? Remember, we are observing this as it was 1,480 years ago. They could be gone....or....here by now.

Gord
Space Pirate

[Bud Brewster]

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Looking at the question from a strictly logical standpoint, the need is really high for an advanced civilization to clear out the debris from its star system and convert the material into some kind of strong, protected mega-structure to inhabit.

The threat of an extinction-event-sized asteroid smacking the hell out of the old planetary homestead should not be taken lightly. Ditto for massive solar flares and solar prominences.

So, if a species of super-smart aliens want to sleep peacefully at night, they'd probably build some gigantic, damn-near indestructible super-thingie to protect them from the nasty moods of Mother Nature.

Then they'd pepper the outer surface with serious firepower, just in cause some undesirable types showed up and tried to take it away from them.

Of course, all this doesn't mean the structure has to look brutish and ugly. It might be downright purty, like this one!



Hmmm . . . somebody ought to write novel about this!

Luckily my parents couldn't think of a middle name for me, so they just wrote "somebody" on the birth certificate and figured they'd change it when they came up with a better name later.



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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)