They’re back! Speculation that a strangely pulsing star may have unnatural origins flared in 2015. Now a new survey has revealed it’s not alone. And they’re all oddly clustered together.
The star is designated KIC 8462852.
It’s a yellow-white dwarf star sitting around 1470 light-years away.
It was given the nickname Boyajian’s Star (Tabby’s Star) or the “WTF Star” after astronomer Tabetha Boyajian discovered its odd behaviour. Its brightness varied by an unprecedented 22 per cent. Even more startling was the speed and randomness of its flickering.
How a star could pulse in such an erratic, dramatic way remains a mystery.
Most natural interstellar activity is as regular as clockwork. It’s all about orbits, how these interact, and the patterns they create.
No such pattern has been found with Tabby’s Star.
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