The Star That Dims and No One Knows Why

Chapters

1. 00:00A Star That Breaks All Rules
2. 00:16The 22% Dimming
3. 00:31A Century-Long Fade
4. 00:48Kepler's mission
5. 01:05The anomaly flagged
6. 01:20Anomalous dimming
7. 01:34Planetary Transit vs. Tabby's Star
8. 01:49A Century-Long Fade
9. 02:06Two Puzzles, One Star
10. 02:24Dust Hypothesis
11. 02:46Missing Infrared Heat
12. 03:09Unsettling Mystery
13. 03:37The Dust Dilemma
14. 03:55Multiple Dust Sources?
15. 04:13The Comet Family Idea
16. 04:42A Stellar Cataclysm?
17. 05:15The Century-Long Clue
18. 05:38A Ring of Debris?
19. 06:11The Search Continues
20. 06:43Citizen Scientists Help
21. 07:15The Unanswered Question

About this video

Tabby's Star, also known as KIC 8462852, dims in ways that defy all known astrophysics. In this video, we explore the century-long fade, the mysterious 22% dips, and the leading theories from dust to alien megastructures. Chapters: 00:00 A Star That Breaks All Rules 00:14 The 22% Dimming 00:28 A Century-Long Fade 00:43 Kepler's mission 01:00 The anomaly flagged 01:13 Anomalous dimming 01:26 Planetary Transit vs. Tabby's Star 01:40 A Century-Long Fade 01:55 Two Puzzles, One Star 02:12 Dust Hypothesis 02:32 Missing Infrared Heat 02:54 Unsettling Mystery 03:19 The Dust Dilemma 03:36 Multiple Dust Sources? 03:52 The Comet Family Idea 04:19 A Stellar Cataclysm? 04:49 The Century-Long Clue 05:10 A Ring of Debris? 05:41 The Search Continues 06:10 Citizen Scientists Help 06:40 The Unanswered Question Sources & further reading: • Boyajian et al. (2016) – 'Planet Hunters IX. KIC 8462852 – where's the flux?' — Original paper introducing Tabby's Star and its anomalous dimming. • Boyajian et al. (2018) – 'The First Post-Kepler Brightness Dips of KIC 8462852' — Follow-up study showing wavelength-dependent dimming consistent with dust. • Schaefer (2016) – 'KIC 8462852 Faded at an Average Rate of 0.165 ± 0.013 Magnitudes per Century' — Paper reporting century-long dimming trend. • Marengo et al. (2015) – 'KIC 8462852: The Infrared Flux' — Spitzer observations showing no infrared excess. • Harp et al. (2016) – 'Radio SETI Observations of the Anomalous Star KIC 8462852' — SETI search results for Tabby's Star. • NASA Kepler Mission – KIC 8462852 data — Primary light curve data from Kepler.

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