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Research questions are the building block of our platform of scientific inquiry. Key questions are the ones at the heart of a mystery; every other question helps answer one of them.

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Tabby's star (KIC 8462852)
Tabby's star (KIC 8462852)2 key questions · 8 questions · 0 answered
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QuestionWhere it stands
KeyWhat blocks the light during the deep, irregular dips?
Most likelyClumps of fine dust orbiting the star, released by comets, planetesimals or other bodies close to it
Has the dipping stopped, or does it come in episodes?
Most likelyDipping comes in episodes separated by years of quiet, with no strict period
If the dips are dust, what produces it in large, short-lived clumps?
Most likelyThe fragments of a broken-up comet or planetesimal on an eccentric orbit, passing in front of the star in…
Is the 1.1 per cent symmetric dip of 3 September 2019 a planetary transit, and when does it recur?
No evidence yetNo answers yet
KeyWhat causes the slow fading of the star?
Most likelyA large, diffuse amount of circumstellar dust, more extended than the clumps that make the dips
Did the slow fade continue, stop or reverse after 2018?
No evidence yetNo answers yet
Did the star fade over the twentieth century?
Open4 answers, none ahead
Do the independent plate archives (Sonneberg, Sternberg, Maria Mitchell) agree with Harvard about the star's brightness from 1934 to 1990?
No evidence yetNo answers yet