<p>I think this scenario is unlikely.  There is no evidence Tabby's star is near a neutron star.  Astronomers are monitoring Tabby's star very closely and there has not been any detection of the radio emission, gamma rays, or x-rays you would expect to see from a neutron star.  Also something as heavy as a nearby neutron star would have a lot of gravity probably show up in radial velocity measurements of the star.  Globs of dust, broken up comets, or more mundane stellar variability are a far more likely explanations for the weird dips seen in the star's light-curve.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-08-15T20:41:26.557Z
2019-08-15T20:41:26.557Z
Kyle
<p>There have been some other questions here about what might cause the light curve dips of star KIC 8462852 as observed by Kepler Space Telescope. Here's one I haven't heard before:</p>

<p>Could it be that a neutron star, from Earth yet unobserved, or another supernova remnant in the relative vicinity of Tabby's star, hits it with its polar jet stream? Being in the focus of an irregular jet of charged particles would disturb the star's magnetic field, somehow causing star spot patterns, and upsetting its photosphere perhaps otherwise too.</p>

<p>Can this be excluded?</p>

<light-curve><sunspots><astronomical-jet>
Could Tabby's star be beamed by a neutron star's jet causing irregular star spots?
LocalFluff
# Could Tabby's star be beamed by a neutron star's jet causing irregular star spots?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2019-08-12)

There have been some other questions here about what might cause the light curve dips of star KIC 8462852 as observed by Kepler Space Telescope. Here's one I haven't heard before:

Could it be that a neutron star, from Earth yet unobserved, or another supernova remnant in the relative vicinity of Tabby's star, hits it with its polar jet stream? Being in the focus of an irregular jet of charged particles would disturb the star's magnetic field, somehow causing star spot patterns, and upsetting its photosphere perhaps otherwise too.

Can this be excluded?

**Tags:** light-curve, sunspots, astronomical-jet


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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2019-08-15. Score: 4

I think this scenario is unlikely. There is no evidence Tabby's star is near a neutron star. Astronomers are monitoring Tabby's star very closely and there has not been any detection of the radio emission, gamma rays, or x-rays you would expect to see from a neutron star. Also something as heavy as a nearby neutron star would have a lot of gravity probably show up in radial velocity measurements of the star. Globs of dust, broken up comets, or more mundane stellar variability are a far more likely explanations for the weird dips seen in the star's light-curve.


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