Put away the red rug , people . We are nowdefinitely surethat the star KIC 8462852 , 1,500 light - years off and hypothesized to potentially have sign of an sophisticated foreign civilization , does n’t host healthy extraterrestrial living .
This confirmation come from the Search For Extraterrestrial Intelligence ( SETI ) external organization . While the SETI Institute in California hadpreviously searchedfor signal indicative of advanced life coming from the superstar , this later round of observations was much more intensive . Sadly , it seem there is nothing there .
" The supposition of an alien megastructure around KIC 8462852 is quickly crumbling apart , " said Douglas Vakoch , President of SETI International and an author of the newspaper publisher issue inThe Astrophysical Journal Letters , useable onArxiv , in astatement . " We plant no grounds of an advanced civilisation beam designed laser signals toward Earth . ”
The initial excitement had rise when Jason Wright , an astrophysicist from Pennsylvania State University , suggested toThe Atlanticthat a huge free fall in brightness level see from the star – up to 20 percent of its ignitor – could be artificial in origin . This had people dreaming ofDyson spheres , vast theoretic structure that could potentially harness the business leader of entire stars , and other exciting extraterrestrial conception .
Last calendar month , separate researchconcluded that the anomaly was almost certainly just a swarm of comets , as postulated by the source of the paperfirst line the star , Tabetha Boyajian , in September .
In this latest field of study , scientists search for signal as brusque as a billionth of a second coming from the star between October 29 and November 28 , using the Boquete Optical SETI Observatory in Panama . While other search had looked for a stream of pulses , this lookout station used a single photometer to appear for pulse that repeat in a unconstipated manner – a clear planetary house of an artificial signal .
But while this sketch came up empty handed , it did at least help test the methods that will be used in the case that an actual detection is made , with the Allen Telescope Array in northern California also look for sign .
" If some day we really detect a signal from an extraterrestrial civilisation , we necessitate to be ready to follow up at observatories around the world , as cursorily as possible , " add Vakoch in the statement .
Better luck next time , eh .
