SCP-3029
rating: +300+x
KIC%208462852.jpg

KIC 8462852 photographed in Infrared and Ultraviolet light

Item #: SCP-3029

Object Class: Euclid

Special Containment Procedures: Because of the size and distance of SCP-3029, full containment is impossible. Some aspects of SCP-3029 are already well-known among civilian media outlets, so completely hiding the anomaly through amnestics or editing of scientific data is implausible. However, such methods may be employed to convince astronomers that the observed dimming pattern is the result of dust clouds or comets obscuring the star from view.

Description: SCP-3029 is the cause of the phenomenon affecting KIC 8462852, an F-type main sequence star located in the Cygnus constellation, roughly 1,280 ly from Earth. This star dims periodically - while it was first assumed that this indicated a transiting exoplanet, the irregular nature of this dimming ruled out that possibility.

Stellar%20Engine.JPG

Diagram of the SCP-3029 system

SCP-3029 has been determined to be an array of large, reflective objects,1 in an orbit around the star with an average altitude of █.██ AU. It is currently believed that these function as solar collectors, and have been known to obscure a maximum of over 20% of the star's light.

The star system also appears to move at a calculated rate of roughly 0.1c relative to the Earth. The cause of this motion is a large curved reflector,2 measuring roughly 2 AU across and directed perpendicular to the galactic plane. This reflector is aligned such that only the darkened side is visible from Earth, but at no point obscures KIC 8462852. Furthermore, it is positioned such that photon pressure cancels its gravitational attraction to its parent star, and directs all light, radiation, and emitted particles in the opposite direction.

This directed emission produces a small prograde thrust, causing a noticeable acceleration in the entire system, that will eventually lead to its escape from the gravity well of the Milky Way. Assuming constant acceleration to reach its current speed, it is believed that this "thruster" has been in operation for over a century.

No information is currently known about either the creators of these megastructures, or their motivation for accomplishing a project of this scale.


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