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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link="#0563C1" vlink="#954F72"><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><div><div style='border:none;border-top:solid #E1E1E1 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in 0in 0in'><p class=MsoNormal><b>From:</b> extropy-chat [mailto:extropy-chat-bounces@lists.extropy.org] <b>On Behalf Of </b>spike<br><b>Sent:</b> Friday, May 19, 2017 5:47 PM<br><b>To:</b> 'ExI chat list' <extropy-chat@lists.extropy.org><br><b>Subject:</b> [ExI] tabby's star dimming again<o:p></o:p></p></div></div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Whoa! Check this!<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><a href="http://www.popsci.com/alien-megastructure-star-dimming-again">http://www.popsci.com/alien-megastructure-star-dimming-again</a><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><h1 style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:3.75pt;margin-left:0in'><span style='font-size:27.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;color:black'>That weird ‘alien megastructure’ star is dimming again right now<o:p></o:p></span></h1><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#666666;text-transform:uppercase'>ASTRONOMERS ARE SCRAMBLING TO TAKE MEASUREMENTS.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span class=label><i><span style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;color:#695F62'>By</span></i></span><span class=apple-converted-space><i><span style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;color:#695F62'> </span></i></span><span class=author><i><span style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;color:#695F62'><a href="http://www.popsci.com/popsci-authors/sarah-fecht"><span style='color:black'>Sarah Fecht</span></a></span></i></span><span class=apple-converted-space><i><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;color:black'> </span></i></span><span class=date><i><span style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;color:black'>5 hours ago</span></i></span><i><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class=MsoNormal><span class=apple-converted-space> </span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:24.75pt'><b><span style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;text-transform:uppercase'>ILLUSTRATION OF THE STAR KIC 8462852<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><span style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'>The weird light blips coming from this star might be caused by a family of comets or collision debris, but scientists don't really know.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p align=right style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align:right'><span style='font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'>NASA/JPL-Caltech<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'>In late 2015, astronomers noticed<span class=apple-converted-space> </span><a href="http://www.popsci.com/have-we-detected-alien-megastructures-around-distant-star"><span style='color:black'>something absurd</span></a><span class=apple-converted-space> </span>happening around a distant star. Something massive seemed to be blocking as much as 20 percent of the star’s light.<o:p></o:p></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><o:p> </o:p></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'>That’s way too much to be a planet. It might be comets, or maybe an alien-made Dyson swarm. The problem is that<span class=apple-converted-space> </span><a href="http://www.popsci.com/could-black-hole-be-blocking-light-from-that-alien-megastructure-star"><span style='color:black'>none of the hypotheses</span></a><span class=apple-converted-space> </span>that scientists have come up with (including the one about aliens) really fits with the data. That leads them to think that some as-yet-undiscovered phenomena is happening around this star.<o:p></o:p></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><o:p> </o:p></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><o:p> </o:p></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><o:p> </o:p></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'>Go there, go now, explain please!<o:p></o:p></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><o:p> </o:p></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'>spike<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Here’s the curve! There is no known natural phenomenon that can do this without leaving one helllll of an IR signature.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><img border=0 width=575 height=386 style='width:5.9895in;height:4.0208in' id="Picture_x0020_1" src="cid:image001.jpg@01D2D0E2.2C3C47A0"><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Johnny wan Clarknobi! Where are ye, me lad? How the hell can a star do this? Stars don’t go there. What’s your theory sir?<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>spike<o:p></o:p></p></div></body></html>