Astronomers searched over 5 million stars for signs of “Dyson spheres” – hypothetical megastructures built by advanced aliens to harness a star’s energy.
They identified 7 stars with abnormally high infrared radiation, a potential signature of a Dyson sphere.
Further examination found 3 stars were very close to “hot dust-obscured galaxies” (hot DOGs) surrounded by thick dust clouds that emit infrared.
The dust clouds around these galaxies likely cause the excess infrared from these 3 stars, not any alien structure.
The researchers argue the other 4 stars are also likely obscured by hot DOGs, though not enough data currently to conclusively identify the galaxies.
This does not rule out Dyson spheres, but shows natural cosmic phenomena like hot DOGs can mimic their predicted signatures. More evidence would be needed to prove any discovery is truly alien in origin rather than natural alignments.
The study demonstrates the complexity of astronomy and importance of rigorous analysis to distinguish natural from technological explanations for unusual observations.
Source: Live Science
