Written by Kaipa Naga
Edited by Navika Mittal
Dyson sphere theory, originally proposed by physicist Freeman Dyson, suggests that an advanced extraterrestrial civilization might build a massive structure around its star to harness its energy. This hypothetical megastructure, often envisioned as a swarm of satellites or a solid shell encircling a star, would allow civilizations to capture vast amounts of solar energy to meet their growing power needs.
This concept is tied to the idea of Kardashev Type II civilization, which is capable of harnessing all the energy of its home star. Our civilization has already harnessed advanced technology such as infrared light. This specific invention will allow us to identify Dyson spheres. Infrared technologies would allow for the discovery of a Dyson sphere since harnessing such a powerful energy source (parent star) would indicate mass amounts of infrared energy. This would clearly show up on our radars and it would be a clear indication of a civilization that has completed that magnificent task.
Recently, there have been multiple breakthroughs of abnormal astronomical activity that support this theory. The Tabby star, specifically, has been found to be decreasing its energy from 5-22% a day. This is an extremely abnormal occurrence as stars don’t magically have an energy reduction. For our solar system to reduce the power from our sun, we would need a planet the size of Jupiter to pass, creating an eclipse, but then again this would only block 1% of the power coming from our parent star.
Scientists believe that the theory of Dyson spheres is coming into place as we currently know of no other theory that would allow for such a drastic change in energy. There is a brand new astronomical project going by the name, Hephaistos. This magnificent project has detected 7 M-type planets that have been emitting excess amounts of infrared data. Of course, these dwarf planets could have other potential reasons as to why they are emitting massive amounts of infrared energy, although scientists believe that they are the strongest candidates to fit the Dyson sphere requirement out of 5 million.
References
Deborah B. (2023, September 29). A Dyson Sphere harvests the energy of stars.
Evan Gough (2024, May 13). Astronomers are on the hunt for dyson spheres.
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