Scientists say the coldest ‘stars’ in the Milky Way may actually be giant alien technologies harvesting energy from millions of solar collectors orbiting red and white dwarfs
Some of the coldest objects currently classified as stars in the Milky Way may not be stars at all. A new study by University of Arkansas astrophysicist Amir Nizam Amiri suggests that these extremely cold objects may be massive energy-harvesting structures built by advanced alien civilizations. According to the study, these objects fit the expected behavior of an engineered system that collects the star’s energy and releases the remaining heat in the form of infrared radiation.The research, to be published in the journal Cosmos, provides a new mathematical approach to searching for these possible alien structures. The idea was first proposed by physicist Freeman Dyson in 1960. Rather than surrounding the star with a giant shell, modern scientists now prefer to surround the star with a giant shell. ‘Dyson group‘, Made up of millions of individual solar collectors orbiting a star. The researchers believe the design would be much more practical than a solid sphere, which would be nearly impossible to build.According to Amiri’s research, red dwarfs and white dwarfs would be the best stars around which advanced alien civilizations could build such a system.
Red dwarfs and white dwarfs may be the best choice
Red dwarfs are the most common stars in the Milky Way. They burn nuclear fuel very slowly, allowing them to remain stable for trillions of years. This gives any advanced civilization ample time to build and maintain large-scale energy harvesting systems. Because red dwarfs are much smaller than stars like the Sun, they require much less material to surround them.
Look for unusual heat signatures
Dyson groups will revolutionize the way stars are displayed on the Hertz-Rubber diagram (HR), which astronomers use to compare the temperature and brightness of stars.The idea is simple. Dyson clusters absorb most of the visible light from their stars, use that energy to power advanced civilizations, and then release the unused energy in the form of infrared heat. The total amount of energy will remain the same, but much less energy will be considered visible light.
what scientists are looking for
Amiri’s research also explains how scientists can differentiate between Dyson dust swarms and natural dust clouds.Young and dying stars are often surrounded by thick disks of dust that also emit infrared light. However, these dust clouds leave behind clear chemical signatures, including emissions from silicate minerals.Dyson swarms will look very different. It will produce a cleaner infrared spectrum rather than dusty material because it is made up of organized structures rather than natural debris.The gaps between the millions of orbiting solar collectors will also create another clue. As the collectors move around the star, they block different amounts of light at different times, causing irregular changes in brightness. These patterns are very different from the regular changes seen in naturally variable stars.
What a hypothetical Dyson Swarm system would look like
Astronomers are already looking for these exact signs. The James Webb Space Telescope and its powerful infrared instruments are one of the main tools being used. Meanwhile, projects like Hephaestus are analyzing millions of old observations from missions including the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE).In May 2024, the Hephaestus Project identified seven possible Dyson sphere candidates from a survey of about 5 million stars, all centered on red dwarfs. One candidate was later eliminated after researchers discovered a distant supermassive black hole aligned just behind the star. That leaves five candidates still under consideration.Amiri’s new model gives astronomers a clearer way to test these objects and determine whether they are simply unusual natural systems or perhaps signs of advanced alien technology.
