Tabby’s Star
If you've been keeping up with space-related news in the past year, you almost certainly will have head of the “Alien Megastructure star”.
Also known as Tabby's Star, and scientifically as KIC 8462852, this star has been the cause of much speculation.
It all started back in 2015, when astronomers noticed a star 1,200 light years from Earth was dipping in brightness by up to 22 per cent. And it wasn't just once – records showed the decrease in luminosity has been seen numerous times, stretching back all the way to 1890.
Tabby's Star shot to the forefront, though, when astronomer Jason Wright suggested the dimming could be due to an alien megastructure. The tongue-in-cheek comment built on the idea that an advanced civilisation might attempt to harness the power of a star by building a structure around it, known as a Dyson sphere or Dyson swarm. The comments sparked a flurry of interest.
Scientists have since tried to detect the infrared signature from such a megastructure, but with no luck.
More rational explanations have since been put forward, which are now more favoured by the astronomy community. The most promising is that there is a cloud of dust orbiting the star every 700 days, possibly the remains of a planet or comets. Even this would be an astounding discovery, however, so while it might not be aliens, Tabby's Star remains a fascinating area of study.