Project Hephaistos – II. Dyson sphere candidates from Gaia DR3, 2MASS, and WISE – publication
Astronomers find 60 Dyson sphere megastructure candidates among millions of searched stars.
Dyson spheres are gargantuan artificial structures, built by extraterrestrial civilizations around around their stars, with the goal of capturing energy. First proposed in 1960 by physicist Freeman Dyson, they are an incredible thought experiment. Two teams of astronomers in Sweden and Italy recently conducted a new search for possible evidence of Dyson spheres. The astronomers examined 5 million stars, up to 6,500 light-years away and found 60 possible candidate stars. The stars, both red dwarfs (or M dwarfs) and larger ones including sun-like stars, are emitting up to 60 times more infrared heat than scientists expected. The results fit with what astronomers would expect to see from Dyson spheres. The teams found the candidates in the latest Gaia DR3 data from the European Gaia satellite as well as the Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS) and Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE). The researchers said it is difficult to explain the observations with currently known natural processes. And even if the process is most likely a previously unknown natural phenomenon, it’s still a fascinating discovery.
Astronomers find 60 Dyson sphere candidates, among millions of searched stars
Background Contamination of the Project Hephaistos Dyson Spheres Candidates
