Astronomers are looking at the star KIC 8462852 after it was brought to their attention when people at PlanetHunters were labeling it “bizarre” and “curious”. The data comes from the Kepler space observatory that was studying the area for about four years. Kepler is no longer fully operational but there still a lot of data collected to go through. One likely explanation for the unusual readings could be massive clouds of comets orbiting this star. Another explanation could be megastructures built by an alien civilization. This star, also known as TYC 3162-665-1, is found 1481 light years away in the Cygnus constellation.
The Atlantic: The most mysterious star
New Scientist: Cloud of comets orbiting distant star
Popular Science: Megastructures built by aliens?
Independent: Astronomers may have found alien megastructures
Tabetha Boyajian @ ArXiv: KIC 8462852 – Where is the flux?
Jason Wright’s blog: AstroWright
Phil Plait @ Slate: Did Astronomers Find Evidence of an Alien Civilization?
Reddit: SETI researchers set to examine KIC 8462852
Wikipedia: KIC 8462852 | Kepler | PlanetHunters | Green Bank Telescope | Dyson sphere
