biffer Posted October 15, 2015 Share Posted October 15, 2015 (edited) The Kepler telescope, which is a planet hunter, has found a really weird signal form a star around 1500 light years away which can't be explained by a planet. http://news.discovery.com/space/alien-life-exoplanets/has-kepler-discovered-an-alien-megastructure-151014.htm Although there are multiple possible suggestions, one of them is that it's evidence of a dyson type object around the star. It's pretty unlikely, but not impossible. A good, scientific examination of it is in Phil Plait's blog here http://www.slate.com/blogs/bad_astronomy/2015/10/14/weird_star_strange_dips_in_brightness_are_a_bit_baffling.html ANd if you really want it, here's a paper examining all the possibilities of what the signal could be http://arxiv.org/pdf/1509.03622v1.pdf Edited October 15, 2015 by biffer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haitch Posted October 15, 2015 Share Posted October 15, 2015 First man on moon = Neil Armstrong Shortened = Neil A. Written backwards = Alien. Its all a conspiricy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasMc1973 Posted October 15, 2015 Share Posted October 15, 2015 First man on moon = Neil Armstrong Shortened = Neil A. Written backwards = Alien. Its all a conspiricy. That's up there with Scotty levels of horseshit! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parklife Posted October 15, 2015 Share Posted October 15, 2015 First man on moon = Neil Armstrong Shortened = Neil A. Written backwards = Alien. Its all a conspiricy. Alien = 1-12-9-4-14 1+1+2+9+4+1+4=22 22/2 = 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairbairn Posted October 15, 2015 Share Posted October 15, 2015 A good, scientific examination of it is in Phil Plait's blog here http://www.slate.com/blogs/bad_astronomy/2015/10/14/weird_star_strange_dips_in_brightness_are_a_bit_baffling.html A blog written by someone named Phil? It's bound to be made up nonsense... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phart Posted October 15, 2015 Share Posted October 15, 2015 Saw this last night. Think they're going to take a look with radio telescope then use the massive array if anything pops up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thplinth Posted October 15, 2015 Share Posted October 15, 2015 (edited) So if it is aliens this would be them 1500 years ago? Feck knows what they are up to now then. Amazed we can make out this kind of detail this far away. Edited October 15, 2015 by thplinth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harrystarfish Posted October 15, 2015 Share Posted October 15, 2015 A decrease of 22% luminosity seems quite a lot considering that exo-planets usually reduce the apparent output by less than 1% if i'm not mistaken. Even if it's artificial, it may not designate intelligence, it could be some kind of massive-scale equivalent of a coral reef or ant-hill, a complex structure built over time by simple creatures or processes repeating the same tasks for millennia. I believe SETI have applied to to focus their observations to that part of the sky following this too, will be interesting to see their results. What would be more scary - a Dyson sphere half-built or one half-destroyed ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hunchy Posted October 15, 2015 Share Posted October 15, 2015 It's the death star Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thplinth Posted October 15, 2015 Share Posted October 15, 2015 Ants by any definition Harry are intelligent. Same with a coral reef. And if it was death star then I am guessing they finished it about a thousand years ago plus. So maybe best not to send them a message even by snail mail (i.e. the speed of light). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phart Posted October 15, 2015 Share Posted October 15, 2015 Yeah we're only seeing 1500 years ago with this, might be finished by now and them on their way as we swing a big sky dish to have a look. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brummie Hibs Posted October 15, 2015 Share Posted October 15, 2015 So if we wave at them, it'll be 1500 light years before they see us? Unless they have the ability to view faster than light? Forget traveling faster than light, what about looking through a telescope and seeing the future? Is that even a concept? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thplinth Posted October 15, 2015 Share Posted October 15, 2015 So if we wave at them, it'll be 1500 light years before they see us? Aye and the 1500 years to get the reply assuming they reply instantly. "Hi we are not home right now if you'd like to leave a message..." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thplinth Posted October 15, 2015 Share Posted October 15, 2015 Or they can (travel and0 communicate faster than the speed of light...in which case we might be deeply ed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
biffer Posted October 15, 2015 Author Share Posted October 15, 2015 So if it is aliens this would be them 1500 years ago? Feck knows what they are up to now then. Amazed we can make out this kind of detail this far away. Give it another four years and this baby will be in orbit http://www.jwst.nasa.gov/ The mirror is six times the diameter of the one on the Hubble. It'll open up whole new observations and we will see things we've never seen before. It will be able to see some planets around other stars, but not in any detail. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
biffer Posted October 15, 2015 Author Share Posted October 15, 2015 Forget traveling faster than light, what about looking through a telescope and seeing the future? Is that even a concept? No Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
biffer Posted October 15, 2015 Author Share Posted October 15, 2015 They won't be able to detect us from there though. Our radio signals only started within the last hundred years, so they won't see anything here that would suggest a civilisation. However, they could detect signs of life, by doing some of the things we are doing to try and find life around other stars. Some instruments are being proposed that will detect changes in the spectra of stars that are due to the light passing through the atmosphere of a planet as it passes in front of it. If you can then demonstrate the spectra of certain molecules that are very short lived (galactic ally speaking) such as methane, there must be a process producing it constantly. There are some combinations of compounds for which it's very difficult to envisage any mechanism that would maintain them in equilibrium other than life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brummie Hibs Posted October 15, 2015 Share Posted October 15, 2015 NoThanks for the succinct answer. I hereby patent the clairvoyant telescope. Now I need somebody intelligent to build it for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toepoke Posted October 15, 2015 Share Posted October 15, 2015 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harrystarfish Posted October 15, 2015 Share Posted October 15, 2015 Ants by any definition Harry are intelligent. Same with a coral reef. And if it was death star then I am guessing they finished it about a thousand years ago plus. So maybe best not to send them a message even by snail mail (i.e. the speed of light). Na, you could maybe argue that a coalesced hive mind shows intelligence, but individually ants are as clever as individual neutrons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phart Posted October 15, 2015 Share Posted October 15, 2015 Na, you could maybe argue that a coalesced hive mind shows intelligence, but individually ants are as clever as individual neutrons. Considering the relative size of a neutron and an ant brain, i find that hard to believe. So i went to google. Pretty interesting brain set up from individual ants as well http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/weve-been-looking-at-ant-intelligence-the-wrong-way/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orraloon Posted October 15, 2015 Share Posted October 15, 2015 If they are heading in our direction the only reason would be to eat us. We would be an excellent source of protein for them. I'm not bothered though as I will be long dead before they get here. I'm quite happy for them to have what's left of me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harrystarfish Posted October 16, 2015 Share Posted October 16, 2015 Considering the relative size of a neutron and an ant brain, i find that hard to believe. So i went to google. Pretty interesting brain set up from individual ants as well http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/weve-been-looking-at-ant-intelligence-the-wrong-way/ Interesting article. BTW thanks for overlooking my neuron / neutron spelling mistake without comment! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
biffer Posted October 16, 2015 Author Share Posted October 16, 2015 If they are heading in our direction the only reason would be to eat us. We would be an excellent source of protein for them. I'm not bothered though as I will be long dead before they get here. I'm quite happy for them to have what's left of me. How do you know they need protein? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phart Posted October 16, 2015 Share Posted October 16, 2015 Interesting article. BTW thanks for overlooking my neuron / neutron spelling mistake without comment! I thought you meant neutron, although looking back in context with hive mind etc, neuron would be the obvious answer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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