Automatically selected top science news story of the day ( ? )
Follow us with Twitter - Facebook
Next update in ¼ hour

Astronomer discusses the science behind that mysterious star you've heard so much about

Phys.org - Wed 2 Dec 15

A Yale-led team of astronomers has had its eye on a particularly bright star whose dramatic dips in energy output may be the result of fragmented, extra-solar comets buzzing past the star.

NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope sheds light on "alien megastructure" star

New Atlas - Wed 25 Nov 15

KIC 8462852 recently attracted a lot of attention owing to speculation that dramatic dips in the star's light that were detected in 2011 and 2013 by NASA's Kepler spacecraft were due ...

Astronomers say comet fragments best explanation of mysterious dimming star

Phys.org - Wed 25 Nov 15

Was it a catastrophic collision in the star's asteroid belt? A giant impact that disrupted a nearby planet? A dusty cloud of rock and debris? A family of comets breaking apart? Or was it alien ...

Iowa State astronomers say comet fragments best explanation of mysterious dimming star, e! Science News - Wed 25 Nov 15

Comets May Have Caused 'Alien Megastructure' Star's Strange Dimming

SPACE.com - Mon 30 Nov 15

A faraway star's mysterous and dramatic dimming was most likely caused by comet fragments, a new study suggests — though it doesn't rule out the much-ballyhooed possibility of an "alien megastructure" ...

'Alien megastructures' orbiting distant star are most likely comets, as expected

The Verge - Sun 29 Nov 15

Last month, the online world went into a tizzy over the possibility of intelligent alien life lingering near a distant star in our galaxy. The star in question is called KIC 8462852, ...

Alien Megastructure? Probably Not. Exocomets More Likely

Discovery News - Sat 28 Nov 15

A broken-up comet likely made star KIC 8462852 look strange, a new study suggests.

An 'alien megastructure" may really be a bunch of comets

FOXNews - Fri 27 Nov 15

KIC 8462852 is an odd and fascinating star, astronomers say—but it probably isn't host to an "alien megastructure," as some researchers suggested as a longshot possibility when the star and ...

That Supposed Alien Megastructure May Actually Be a Swarm of Cometary Fragments

Gizmodo - Thu 26 Nov 15

An oddly dimming star located 1,500 light-years from Earth is causing all sorts of commotion in the scientific community, leading some to speculate that it may be some sort of alien megastructure. ...

'Alien Megastructure' Star Apparently Thronged By Comets

Popular Science - Wed 25 Nov 15

Illustration of the star KIC 8462852 The weird light blips coming from this star might be caused by a family of comets or collision debris. NASA/JPL-Caltech ...

That star's 'alien megastructure' is likely just a swarm of comets

Engadget - Tue 24 Nov 15

Occam's Razor apparently holds true everywhere, even in the farthest reaches of space. While researchers speculated that star KIC 8462852's mysterious dimming might be the result ...

Comet fragments, not aliens, best explain mysterious dimming star

Astronomy.com - Wed 25 Nov 15

Just what caused the dimming of star KIC 8462852?

Swarm of comets, not aliens, likely explains star's odd dimming

UPI - Tue 24 Nov 15

Brooks HaysAMES, Iowa, Nov. 24 (UPI) -- Scientists first blamed a swarm of comets for the odd dimming of the star KIC 8462852. And now new research further backs up that claim.

Comet fragments best explanation of mysterious dimming star

SpaceDaily - Wed 25 Nov 15

Ames IA (SPX) Nov 26, 2015 Was it a catastrophic collision in the star's asteroid belt? A giant impact that disrupted a nearby planet? A dusty cloud of rock and debris? A family of comets ...

Comet fragments best explanation of mysterious dimming star, Science Blog - Wed 25 Nov 15

Iowa State astronomers say comet fragments best explanation of mysterious dimming star

Eurekalert - Wed 25 Nov 15

A team of astronomers led by Iowa State's Massimo Marengo responded to the buzz about a mysterious dimming star by studying data from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. Were there natural explanations ...

Iowa State Astronomers Say Comet Fragments Best Explanation of Mysterious Dimming Star, Newswise - Wed 25 Nov 15