Comments on: Hunting for Dyson Spheres https://habitablezone.com/2024/05/10/hunting-for-dyson-spheres/ Mon, 06 Apr 2026 12:03:37 -0700 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: ER https://habitablezone.com/2024/05/10/hunting-for-dyson-spheres/#comment-53077 ER Sat, 18 May 2024 15:05:42 +0000 https://habitablezone.com/?p=103184#comment-53077 There is an interesting discussion on the search for Dyson Spheres at https://www.centauri-dreams.org/ There are two threads: <em>Seven Dyson Sphere Candidates Project Hephaistos and the Hunt for Astroengineering</em> for those of you who might be interested. As I have mentioned before, I personally am not too optimistic about actually finding such objects, but I can't rule out their existence, and this type of survey has the potential of solving many other astrophysical puzzles, or of exposing new ones. I support it. Piggybacking SETI research on other, more conventional, astrophysical research makes good sense. There is an interesting discussion on the search for Dyson Spheres at

https://www.centauri-dreams.org/

There are two threads:

Seven Dyson Sphere Candidates
Project Hephaistos and the Hunt for Astroengineering

for those of you who might be interested. As I have mentioned before, I personally am not too optimistic about actually finding such objects, but I can’t rule out their existence, and this type of survey has the potential of solving many other astrophysical puzzles, or of exposing new ones. I support it.

Piggybacking SETI research on other, more conventional, astrophysical research makes good sense.

]]> By: ER https://habitablezone.com/2024/05/10/hunting-for-dyson-spheres/#comment-53060 ER Sat, 11 May 2024 12:28:01 +0000 https://habitablezone.com/?p=103184#comment-53060 Serious and respected SETI researchers have mentioned this type of research before, it is legit and mainstream in the astrobiology community. The only new wrinkle is that now we have significant new data sources, (the IR surveys mentioned) as well as a citizen-scientist community that can do the tedious home computer lay enthusiast work required to do a preliminary screening of this enormous amount of data. There is already a SETIatHome community like this looking for anomalies in microwave data from radio observatories. These folks get guidance from a professional organizing group which provides them with data, software, advice and instruction. If you have a home computer and an interest, these folks can get you started with the materials you need, along with coordination and data collation and coordination. There is an enormous amount of data and analysis work in many fields of astronomy which is too tedious and time consuming for professionals to spend their personal or telescope time on, but which can be handled by qualified amateurs with some basic skills, a love of the science, and plenty of free time. One example of this is the American Association of Variable Star Observers, which organizes amateurs to monitor the thousands of known variable stars by comparing them with nearby stars of precisely determined brightness. This task is easily carried out with modest equipment and amateur skill sets, but AAVSO sends its members stars, finder charts, and photometry of comparison stars. It receives from its members magnitude estimates which the Association compiles into light curve graphs which are made available to the professionals for detailed study. So if you are an astronomer working on a particular type of variable star, AAVSO can provide you with years worth of pre-processed graphical data ready for simple visual analysis. The pros read these graphs the way doctors interpret EKGs. The shapes of the light curves give clues as to the physical processes in stellar interiors that drive this variability. The amateurs make the observations of the raw data, the AAVSO collect, organize and processes it, the pros do the analysis and theory. These "citizen scientists" provide an invaluable service (the way birders help ornithologists) in many fields of astronomy, doing vital but routine tasks like timing occultations and appulses, doing meteor shower reports, and searching for new comets. These are tasks which require some astronomical expertise and simple equipment, but which are too time-consuming for the pros to waste their time on. Even if the amateurs provide data of low precision, you get observations from multiple observers so errors and inaccuracies can be quickly identified by comparison. Personally, I don't think they'll find any Dyson Spheres, or any other mega structures, but they don't violate any natural laws, so they MIGHT be out there. Besides, there may be other interesting, totally unexpected, things in the data. Someone needs to plow through the stuff. SETI or not, you never know what else might turn up. Serious and respected SETI researchers have mentioned this type of research before, it is legit and mainstream in the astrobiology community. The only new wrinkle is that now we have significant new data sources, (the IR surveys mentioned) as well as a citizen-scientist community that can do the tedious home computer lay enthusiast work required to do a preliminary screening of this enormous amount of data. There is already a SETIatHome community like this looking for anomalies in microwave data from radio observatories. These folks get guidance from a professional organizing group which provides them with data, software, advice and instruction. If you have a home computer and an interest, these folks can get you started with the materials you need, along with coordination and data collation and coordination.

There is an enormous amount of data and analysis work in many fields of astronomy which is too tedious and time consuming for professionals to spend their personal or telescope time on, but which can be handled by qualified amateurs with some basic skills, a love of the science, and plenty of free time.

One example of this is the American Association of Variable Star Observers, which organizes amateurs to monitor the thousands of known variable stars by comparing them with nearby stars of precisely determined brightness.
This task is easily carried out with modest equipment and amateur skill sets, but AAVSO sends its members stars, finder charts, and photometry of comparison stars. It receives from its members magnitude estimates which the Association compiles into light curve graphs which are made available to the professionals for detailed study. So if you are an astronomer working on a particular type of variable star, AAVSO can provide you with years worth of pre-processed graphical data ready for simple visual analysis. The pros read these graphs the way doctors interpret EKGs. The shapes of the light curves give clues as to the physical processes in stellar interiors that drive this variability. The amateurs make the observations of the raw data, the AAVSO collect, organize and processes it, the pros do the analysis and theory.

These “citizen scientists” provide an invaluable service (the way birders help ornithologists) in many fields of astronomy, doing vital but routine tasks like timing occultations and appulses, doing meteor shower reports, and searching for new comets. These are tasks which require some astronomical expertise and simple equipment, but which are too time-consuming for the pros to waste their time on. Even if the amateurs provide data of low precision, you get observations from multiple observers so errors and inaccuracies can be quickly identified by comparison.

Personally, I don’t think they’ll find any Dyson Spheres, or any other mega structures, but they don’t violate any natural laws, so they MIGHT be out there. Besides, there may be other interesting, totally unexpected, things in the data. Someone needs to plow through the stuff. SETI or not, you never know what else might turn up.

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