Extraterrestrial

Fast-moving stars could be piloted by intelligent aliens, study claims

By T.K. Randall
November 22, 2024 ·  10 comments

Can a star be moved artificially through space ? Image Credit: NASA / Penn State University We've heard of many different concepts for space-faring vehicles over the years but this latest one - which comes courtesy of Belgian philosopher Clement Vidal - is certainly one of the most unique.

In a new paper, Vidal puts forward the idea that 'hypervelocity' stars (stars that move at extraordinarily high speeds) might be under the control of intelligent alien civilizations.

On the face of it, the idea makes sense - if it was possible to move the Sun, for example, you would essentially have the ability to move the entire solar system to a new region of space.

This might be desirable if, for example, you believe a nearby supernova explosion is imminent or if you simply need to move to a more resource-rich part of the cosmos.

Taking your star and planets along for the ride means you are never really away from home.To get the star moving, Vidal proposes that an advanced alien civilization could eject material from its surface in a particular direction - thus producing thrust.

What's particularly interesting is that there are actual stars in the universe that seem to match the characteristics you would expect to see if they happened to be under intelligent control.

Vidal also covers the possibility of binary star systems being used in this way as well.

His work adds to a growing body of potential 'technosignatures' that astronomers could look for to point us in the direction of an advanced alien civilization somewhere out in space.

Who knows - if there really is someone out there, sooner or later we might actually find them.

Source: Live Science | Comments (10)

Tags: Stars, Alien