Tabetha S. Boyajian facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Tabetha S. Boyajian
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| Education |
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| Known for | Investigation of the strange light curve of KIC 8462852 |
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| Thesis | Sizing up the Stars (2009) |
| Doctoral advisor | Harold A. McAlister |
Tabetha "Tabby" Suzanne Boyajian is an American astronomer and a professor at Louisiana State University. She studies stars and planets outside our solar system. Her work involves looking at stars very closely using special telescopes. She also studies how light from stars changes. Boyajian was the main author of a paper in 2015. This paper looked at the very unusual light changes of a star called KIC 8462852. This star is often called Tabby's Star, named after her.
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Becoming an Astronomer
Tabetha Boyajian went to The Galloway School in Atlanta, Georgia. She earned her first degree, a Bachelor of Science (BS), in Physics from the College of Charleston in 2003. She then received a Master of Science (MS) degree in Physics in 2005. In 2009, she earned her Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree in astronomy. Both her master's and PhD degrees were from Georgia State University.
Studying Stars and Planets
For her PhD, Boyajian studied the sizes of stars that are similar to our Sun. She used a special telescope system called the CHARA array. This system helps astronomers measure stars very accurately. It is located at Mount Wilson Observatory.
After her PhD, Boyajian received a special award called a Hubble Fellowship. This allowed her to continue her research at Georgia State University. She focused on measuring stars much smaller than the Sun. She also studied stars that have planets orbiting them. Another astronomer, Sarah Ballard, has praised Boyajian's work. She used Boyajian's data to study a distant exoplanet called Kepler-61b.
From 2012 to 2016, Boyajian was a post-doctoral researcher at Yale University. She worked with another famous astronomer, Debra Fischer. As of 2015, Boyajian was also a secretary and committee member for the International Astronomical Union. This is a big group of astronomers from all over the world.
Helping Citizen Scientists
Boyajian also helps manage the Planet Hunters project. This project lets everyday people, called "citizen scientists," help analyze data from the Kepler space telescope. This telescope looks for planets outside our solar system. In 2017, she co-wrote a book with Kaspar von Braun. The book is called Extrasolar Planets and Their Host Stars.
The Mystery of Tabby's Star
On October 14, 2015, the Kepler Space Telescope observed something very strange. It saw an unusual pattern of light from a star named KIC 8462852. This star was nicknamed "Tabby's Star" because Tabetha Boyajian was the lead researcher who found the strange light changes. The unusual dimming of the star led to many ideas, including the possibility of a huge alien structure.
Exploring Possible Explanations
In February 2016, Boyajian gave a TED Talk. She explained why she and others thought they might have found a massive alien structure. She also talked about ideas like a Dyson sphere. However, she reminded everyone that "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." She said that ideas about aliens should always be the last explanation.
Boyajian and her team tested several ideas to understand the strange light pattern.
- Exoplanet: At first, people thought it might be an exoplanet passing in front of the star. But the dips in light lasted from 5 to 80 days. They also happened at irregular times. This ruled out a single planet orbiting the star.
- Dust Cloud: Another idea was a large cloud of dust. However, the star did not show signs of being very young. Young stars often have dust clouds around them. So, a dust cloud was unlikely.
- Comet Shower: The most likely natural idea was a shower of many comets. Boyajian explained that it would take hundreds of comets to cause the observed dimming. These would only be the comets that passed between us and the star. In reality, thousands or even tens of thousands of comets would be needed. This made the comet idea also very unlikely.
The Search for Answers Continues
Since natural explanations seemed weak, Boyajian's team shared their research with SETI. SETI stands for the Search for extraterrestrial intelligence. The SETI Institute was very interested. They decided to study the star themselves. They pointed their Allen Telescope Array (ATA) at Tabby's Star. They hoped to find a signal that might show a technological civilization.
SETI noted that the timing of the light dips was interesting. It suggested that whatever was blocking the light was at the right distance from the star. This distance is known as the "habitable zone." This is where life like ours could possibly develop.
Boyajian, like SETI, was careful but also allowed herself to imagine possibilities. In her TED Talk, she joked about another idea. She said, "Another idea that's one of my personal favorites is that we had just witnessed an interplanetary space battle and the catastrophic destruction of a planet." She admitted this would create a lot of dust that wasn't seen. But she added, "if we're already invoking aliens in this explanation, then who is to say they didn't efficiently clean up all this mess for recycling purposes?"
The search for answers about KIC 8462852 is still ongoing. As of 2019, two scientific papers suggested possible natural reasons. These ideas involved large moons being pulled away from their planets.
See also
In Spanish: Tabetha S. Boyajian para niños
- Methods of detecting exoplanets
