Dyson sphere

The concept was later explored by the physicist Freeman Dyson in his 1960 paper "Search for Artificial Stellar Sources of Infrared Radiation".

[4] Dyson speculated that such structures would be the logical consequence of the escalating energy needs of a technological civilization and would be a necessity for its long-term survival.

Fictional depictions often describe a solid shell of matter enclosing a star – an arrangement considered by Dyson himself to be impossible.

The number of craft required to obtain, transmit, and maintain a complete Dyson sphere exceeds present-day industrial capabilities.

The seven objects of interest – all located within a thousand light-years of Earth – are M-dwarfs, a class of stars that are smaller and less luminous than the Sun.

Less fantastical alternative explanations have been made, including a proposal that the infrared from the discoveries was caused by distant dust-obscured galaxies.

[27][28][29] A precursor to the concept of Dyson spheres was featured in the 1937 novel Star Maker by Olaf Stapledon,[1] in which he described "every solar system... surrounded by a gauze of light-traps, which focused the escaping solar energy for intelligent use";[30] Dyson got his inspiration from this book and suggested that "Stapledon sphere" would be a more apt name for the concept.

[32] Dyson spheres appear as a background element in many works of fiction, including the 1964 novel The Wanderer by Fritz Leiber where aliens enclose multiple stars in this way.

[1][32][33] Dyson spheres are depicted in the 1975–1983 book series Saga of Cuckoo by Frederik Pohl and Jack Williamson, and one functions as the setting of Bob Shaw's 1975 novel Orbitsville and its sequels.

[38]: ix Other science-fiction story examples include Tony Rothman's The World Is Round, Somtow Sucharitkul's Inquisitor series, Timothy Zahn's Spinneret, James White's Federation World, Stephen Baxter's The Time Ships, and Peter F. Hamilton's Pandora's Star.