Scientists noticed that Gaia20ehk, a “main sequence” star similar to our sun but 11,000 light years distant, had three dips in brightness in 2016, but more dramatic changes in 2021 when its brightness became erratic, which is strange because main sequence starts do not normally vary in their brightness. But while the visible light dimmed, the infrared emissions spiked, indicating that whatever was blocking the light from the star was so hot that it glowed. Researchers hypothesize that the material must have come from a planetary collision which has spewed hot debris around the star. I would like to think, instead, that it is the heat from a Dyson sphere.
More interesting stuff:
- "The Sun Is Stranger Than Astrophysicists Imagined"--Quanta Magazine. Noting that the sun radiates far more gamma rays than expected, raising questions about unknown features of the sun’s magnetic field and the possibility of even more exotic physics.
- "Rapid Thunderstorm Charging Produces Strong Gamma‐Ray Glows"--Eos.
Nah, Intergalactic Bill the Gates attempting to block their sun. (ref: "Bill the Intergalactic Hero" of Harry Harrison fame).
ReplyDeleteI read the "Death World" books and most of the "Stainless Steel Rat" series, but not those.
DeleteI read the original so long ago I didn't know until recently that there were more written. I enjoyed both DW and SSR. And of course "Make Room, Make Room" turned movie as "Soylent Green".
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