The anomalous star KIC 8462852 has baffled astronomers with its erratic dimming, causing some to speculate that it’s orbited by a massive structure built by an extraterrestrial civilization. To help evaluate that possibility, scientists searched for brief laser pulses from the distant star, but found none, as reported in a paper submitted to The Astrophysical Journal Letters, available at http://arxiv.org/abs/1512.02388 .
“The hypothesis of an alien megastructure around KIC 8462852 is rapidly crumbling apart,” said Douglas Vakoch, President of SETI International and an author of the paper. “We found no evidence of an advanced civilization beaming intentional laser signals toward Earth,” he explained.
The experiment was coordinated by SETI International, a new research and educational organization devoted to innovative approaches to astrobiology and the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI), including Active SETI, in which intentional signals are sent to other stars to evoke a reply.
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