Story by Matthew Phelan, Senior Science Reporter for DailyMail.com**
A recent survey utilizing neural network algorithms and data from multiple space telescopes has identified 60 stars that exhibit signs potentially indicative of giant alien power plants. Among these, seven M-dwarf stars, ranging from 60% to 8% the size of our sun, displayed unexpectedly high infrared heat signatures. This discovery suggests the possible existence of massive solar energy collectors, or “Dyson spheres,” as proposed by physicist Freeman Dyson in 1960.
#### Survey Details and Findings
The research teams, led by Matias Suazo from Uppsala University in Sweden and Gaby Contardo from the International School for Advanced Studies in Italy, merged data from the European Space Agency’s Gaia satellite, the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE), and the ground-based infrared telescope survey MASS2. They identified stars that emitted more infrared radiation than natural phenomena could easily explain.
Suazo’s team found seven red M-dwarf stars within 900 light-years of Earth emitting up to 60 times more infrared heat than expected. They calculated the percentage of radiation that would need to be blocked by energy-collecting technology to produce these heat levels, estimating coverage from 3% to 16%. The potential explanation includes a variant of Dyson spheres known as “Dyson swarms”—a fleet of satellites orbiting a star to collect energy.
Broader Implications and Next Steps
Contador’s team identified 53 additional candidates, including some larger sun-like stars up to 6,500 light-years away. They noted that some of these might be young stars heating surrounding debris and proto-planets. Further observations are needed to confirm these findings, with optical spectroscopy suggested as a next step to differentiate between interesting older stars and younger stars surrounded by debris.
These findings, published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, highlight the ongoing search for techno signatures, which range from advanced engineering feats like Dyson spheres to more mundane signs of technology such as pollution detectable from light-years away.
