Andy Lloyd's Dark Star Blog

I'm still gradually working away on a theory to explain how a massive planet whose gravitational effects are evidently distorting the fabric of the outer solar system might have evaded direct detection, despite all efforts to hunt down and observe Planet X.  Regular readers of this blog will recall my interest in shrouds of dust encircling planetary objects located beyond the confines of the heliosphere.  My argument is that the action of the solar wind, as well as well known drag effects associated with it, serve to largely clear out the Sun's domain of dust, which extends out to more than 80 astronomical units (1). 

Visualization of the unstable accretion disk around a forming massive star 

Image Credit: Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Tübingen University

 FU Orionis with its reflective nebula Image Credit: ESO

The FU Ori phenomenon is thought to relate to the occasional dumping of vast clumps of material from an associated nebula onto the accreting dust disk rotating around the forming star, resulting in flaring in the inner portion of the disk (6,7).  Such young proto-stars (known as fuors) are eruptive variables, and are all associated with reflective nebulae (8) which glow in visible and infra-red wavelengths.  These mechanisms appear to be played out in the formation of truly massive stars, too, creating instabilities in the accretion disks which provide variable photometric bursts, and some truly funky distortions.  At least, those are the results of the new hi-powered computer simulations carried out by a research group based in Tübingen University:

"For the first time, the resolution of these simulations was sufficient to infer the formation of high-density clumps within the gravitationally unstable disk. Once formed, these clumps start to migrate through the disk and finally sink into the central star. "Like throwing logs into a fireplace, these episodes of clump consumption produce violent luminosity outbursts outshining the collective effect of one hundred thousand Suns," says Eduard Vorobyov.

"A similar process of episodical luminosity bursts was already known with respect to the formation of the first stars in the Universe and for low-mass stars like our Sun. The new investigation suggests now that the formation of stars of any kind and epoch are controlled by the same universal processes: "It is amazing to see these similarities, as if star formation on all scales and epochs is controlled by a common DNA forged in the early Universe," says Dominique Meyer, the first author of the study and post-doc in the Emmy Noether Group." (9)

If the team is correct, then there are universal principles involved here.  No matter what the size of the forming star, the same kinds of mechanisms are going on.  Which leads me to suggest the following.  Might this also be true in dwarf star formation?  Going further still, might this principle apply to the formation of planets in interstellar space, themselves formed from tiny nebulae?

This dumping of material from associated nebulae into protoplanetary disks associated with sub-stellar object formation may then provide an answer as to how interstellar planets might accumulate clouds of gas and dust around them in the first place, derived from the rivers of interstellar medium constantly cascading past them.  Over billions of years, this gradually 'silting' process could drive the growth of planets located in interstellar space, in a way that planets contained within the heliosphere of a star are simply not exposed to.  Out there in the dark, those dusty nebulae might also provide the cloak which hides such phenomena from sight.

iopscience.iop.org article

References:

I really enjoyed the thought-provoking new science fiction film 'Arrival' (1).  The British film critic Mark Kermode has put together an excellent review (2), so there's no need to give too much away for those of you who may not have seen it.  Instead, I wanted to pick up one of the themes of serious first contact movies I've spotted in recent years.  As is the case with the mainstream media's general ambivalent attitude towards anything UFO-related (i.e. the darling of the trashy tabloids, anathema to broad-sheets), the occupants of UFOs in serious sci-fi are truly alien. 

In other words, there is an avoidance of humanoid E.T.s, with two arms, two legs eyes, and so on.  Instead, either the E.T.s are barely seen, if at all, or given a bizarre, often foreboding appearance.  Aliens in the truest sense.  In this particular movie, the alien entities are rather ingeniously put together both in terms of their appearance, and also their powers of communication, the complexities of which steadily build as the film progresses.

Remember the classic sci-fi B-movies of the 50s/60s?  Aliens were generally humanoid, which reflected (but did not cause) the Contactee-era reports of the human-like denizens of the flying saucers.  Then in the 80s/90s, alien movies brought forth the Greys, again stemming from the Abductee reports prevalent during that time.  Now, aliens take on a more ethereal image - almost abstraction - perhaps reflecting the post-modern 'so where the heck are they?' sentiment. 

Of course, this is all very rough and ready, and does not include the 'they've come to eat us' disaster alien movie genre prevalent throughout.  Also, it doesn't take into account the capacity for modern CGI to stretch the window of alien potential weirdness.  But would aliens really be so weird?  I don't think so.  Instead, I'm rather of the opinion that the development of biological complexity in the universe would tend towards natural convergence.  In the same way that the surface relief of planets takes on relatively recognisable forms, despite differing atmospheric conditions (think Titan or Mars), so too would technologically adept exobiology also evolve towards a recognisable format.  Two eyes for depth perception, two ears to discern direction of sounds, opposable digits to enhance tool use, and so on.

The basic humanoid format enables multifunctional capacity and manual adaptation that enables the extension of intellectual range beyond basic animal instinct and survival.  The basis for that particular biology - although basically carbon and DNA-based to provide the developmental complexity required for intelligence - might be reptilian, mammalian, insectoid, or other.  But in order to reach a level where a species could conquer space, it would likely need to have a basically recognisable format.  That's not to say that the human form is perfect for space travel - far from it.  Our astronauts struggle with the accelerations, the weightlessness, the psychological impact of extended spaceflight.  We're clearly not designed for it, and our form needs tweaking considerably to arrive at a viable homo cosmicus.  But I'd argue that heptapods are far less viable in this regard, beyond merely creating a sense of otherness for the purposes of science fiction.

My friend Mark Keller pointed out to me that 'Arrival' bears a tremendous similarity to movie released 15 years ago called 'Epoch' (3). 

'Arrival' was based upon a short story, written by Ted Chiang, named "Story of your Life" (4), from which many of the conceptual ideas are retained:. 

"Partly through learning about physics theories like Fermat’s Principle of Least Time, Banks deduces that the heptapods cannot begin communicating, or acting, until they first know how that communication or action will ultimately end. In short: they experience time not sequentially, but all at once." (4)

This award-winning novella was published in 1998, pre-dating the movie 'Epoch' by three years.  But the original story does not include entry by the movie's protagonists into the alien spaceship - a theme common to both films (4,5).  I think the general concept of an alien species keeping us at arm's length is probably accurate.  The whole UFO reality seems to reflect just such a thing - observation by them, including absolutely minimal interaction or interjection and, on occasion, great fear of getting caught by us. 

I also very much enjoyed the exploration of the concept of fatalism in 'Arrival'; of choosing a path despite knowing where it'll eventually end up.  This seems to ground the movie in the human experiences of mortality and love.

Written by Andy Lloyd,  14th November 2016

References:

Previous Blog

Next Blog