Mysterious star baffles astronomers

- Astronomers are puzzled , caused by a star with the prosaic "name" KIC 8462852. There circling a large quantity of objects around the star, which not 1-2-3 can be found an explanation .

If KIC 8462852 would be a young star, the objects could be explained as a solar system in the making. KIC 8462852, however, is already an older star, so astronomers have rejected this hypothesis. What it could be a statement that the star recently came close to another, leaving a relatively large number of comets around KIC 8462852 were circling.

Extraterrestrial beschavingHet is a possibility, but astronomer Jason Wright has another theory: the objects orbiting around KIC 8462852, could be artificial. " Extraterrestrial life should always be the last hypothesis that you are considering, but it looks like something you'd expect from an alien civilization was built ", says Wright at The Atlantic. Wright wants to investigate this theory by pointing a radio telescope at KIC 8462852 and thus to 'listen' or radio signals come from, who may have no natural origin.

If such signals are picked up, will enable the astronomer's Very Large Array (VLA). This is a collection of radio telescopes in the desert of the American state of New Mexico. The first observation of KIC 8462852 must already take place next January. If something is found, Wright hopes he can get started right away with the VLA.