This is off topic for this list, but I presume you are following the
news on Tabby's star.
One of the odd things about KIC 8462852 is the lack of IR from
whatever is intercepting the light. Dust won’t act like this, you
would see a lot of IR and they don't
However, a rationally designed thermal type power satellites radiates
the IR north and south of the ecliptic (to keep sunlight off the low
temperature radiators). We have to be edge on to the ecliptic to see
things eclipsing. See the pictures here:
http://spacejournal.ohio.edu/issue18/thermalpower.html
Telescopes a good fraction of the size of the star are another
possible megastructure, and again, they would reflect light north and
south to keep it cool and we would not see the IR. (I mentioned them
decades back in my "Megascale Engineering" article.)
It’s hardly proof, but a continuing failure to detect excess IR would
be consistent with megascale structures. We should know in a few
months, maybe only a few weeks.
This might impact another of my interest, cryonics. If you want to
meet aliens, and some people do, then cryonics the only way now known
that _might_ get you far enough into the future to do that.
Speaking of aliens (if there are any causing the star blinks) should
we call them Tabbyons?
Keith
