Could Tabby's Star's Dimming be due to a Ring of Debris in OUR Solar System?

Tabetha's Rings

Author:

Katz

Abstract:
Could the dips of "Tabetha's Star" (KIC 8462852) have been caused by matter in our Solar System? The interval between periods of deep dips is nearly twice the orbital period of the Kepler satellite. I consider a clumpy particulate ring in the outer Solar System that grazes the line of sight to the star once per orbit of Kepler. The hypothesis predicts that future dips may be observed from Earth during windows separated by a year, although their detailed structure depends on the distribution of particles along the ring. Dips observed at separated sites will be decorrelated, with correlation lengths ≲1012 cm, and possibly as short as ∼600 m.