KIC-8462852 (Tabby's Star), or WTF Star ("Where's The Flux?"), is an F-type main-sequence star approximately 1,480 lightyears (454 parsecs) from Earth. Over recent years, it has become known as the most "mysterious star" in the universe, due to its erratically changing luminosity.
Something is transiting across the face of this star, periodically blocking the star's light, and this can't be explained by conventional theories such as planets or dust. The most exciting news would be that of a vast alien megastructure -- a Dyson sphere -- astroengineering on an unimaginable scale.
Such an event would be the biggest news in human history — for all time!
A way to estimate the number of technological civilizations in the galaxy was proposed by Frank Drake, the founder of SETI (search for extraterrestrial intelligence), in 1961.
where:
• R* = average rate of star formation in our galaxy
• fp = fraction of stars having planets
• ne = average no. of planets that can host life per star that has planets
• fl = fraction of planets that can support life that go on to develop life
• fi = fraction of planets with life that develop intelligent life
• fc = fraction of civilizations that releases detectable signs of technology
• L = length of time for which such civilizations emit detectable signals into space
He famously penned the following equation:
N = R* . fp . ne . fl . fi . fc . L
Carl Sagan, in the Cosmos TV series, demonstrated that there may be as few as 10, or as many as several million advanced technological civilizations in our galaxy.
Discovery of an alien megastructure of the scale of a Dyson sphere gives rise to the possibility of alien civilizations far older and more advanced than we are. Modern human technology is around 200 years old. Out there, however, could be civilizations with a technological heritage spanning millions of years, rather than centuries.
What would they be like? What of their moral disposition?
Stephen Hawkings suggests we should be afraid that such creatures would destroy us. However, science fiction authors Arthur C. Clarke (2001 A Space Odyssey) and James P. Hogan (Giant Series) offer more benign outlooks for civilizations vastly more powerful than we.
We have all heard anecdotes of what happens when one human civilization comes into contact with a less advanced one. However, would such a thing really apply when the potential technological difference would be so vast? We certainly would be no threat to them — would they really want to land a spacecraft on the Whitehouse lawn?
The only thing for certain is that nothing will ever be the same again.
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