Scientists may have come across the biggest hint yet that mega space structures surrounding stars exist and with that, the confirmation of alien life elsewhere in the cosmos.
It's been a long-standing phenomena in the scientific world for more than 50 years, with astronomers pondering as to whether super structures in space do in fact exist.
Dubbed Dyson Spheres, the theory says that these are giant creations that surround a star to capture its solar power output for infinite energy supply.
The theory is that incredibly advanced civilisations in the universe might use these as a way to power their worlds.
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And now, two new studies have showcased that these Dyson Spheres could in fact be a real thing with no answers available as to why there are anomalies in readings from deep space.
Named after physicist Freeman Dyson, who first proposed the idea of the gigantic spheres, the idea has evolved since then while remaining focused on the concept of harnessing the energy of a star to fuel alien civilisations' needs.
Now, one study from Uppsala University in Sweden has been published that provides fresh clues as to their real life existence.
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Forming part of Project Hephaistos, it is part of wider efforts within the scientific community in its 'search for extraterrestrial intelligence'.
The new study, led by Ph.D. student Matías Suazo, says that Dyson Spheres 'may be hiding in public data already collected as part of large astronomical surveys'.
And using data from the Gaia satellite, launched by the European Space Agency back in 2013 to map stars across the universe, Suazo and the team put together a new method for examining the existence of these space structures.
Published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, the researchers write: "This structure would emit waste heat in the form of mid-infrared radiation that, in addition to the level of completion of the structure, would depend on its effective temperature.
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"A specialised pipeline has been developed to identify potential Dyson Sphere candidates focusing on detecting sources that display anomalous infrared excesses that cannot be attributed to any known natural source of such radiation.”
Despite having five million potential stars to analyse, Suazo manages to bring this down to just seven possibilities.
Another study, led by Gaby Contardo at the International School for Advanced Studies in Italy, also looked at the five million objects captured by Gaia.
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Their findings were eyebrow raising, with both producing results of infrared heart that couldn't naturally be explained by known science.
"The most fascinating explanation could be actual Dyson Spheres," says Suazo.
The seven objects found by Suazo's team were red dwarf stars within 900 light-years of Earth.
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Research suggests that due to the images of the stars not being completely covered, a hybrid theory of the Dyson Sphere has mooted.
Called a Dyson Swarm, this is the idea of a collection of large satellites orbiting a star to collect energy.
Topics: Science, Space, Education, World News, Weird, Aliens, Viral
Tom Earnshaw