Amongst the far reaches of space, there resides a mysterious alien star whose odd variations in brightness and tendency to dim inexplicably have left scientists baffled for several months.
Called the KIC 8462852, or Tabby’s Star, the alien sun seemed to dim up to 22% over the course of the century, leading scientists to believe that something massive was passing in front of it. Some even speculated that a Dyson Sphere megastructure could have been constructed around the star by advanced alien lifeforms.
Astronomers have now come across another star sporting those same odd light variations, and scientists are beginning to formulate an explanation. Dubbed EPIC 204278916, this second star is about the size of our Sun in diameter, but with only half its mass.
Discovered by NASA’s Kepler spacecraft in 2014, a team of astronomers has been keeping a close eye on its dips in light, finding them even more perplexing than those of KIC 8462852.
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