2013/11/28 by Joseph Voros, Voros, Joseph
Physics and Astronomy · #Astronomy and Astrophysical Research #FOS: Physical sciences #Popular Physics (physics.pop-ph)
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.1412.4011
openalex publication_date 2013/11/28 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
If we consider Big History as simply 'our' example of the process of cosmic\nevolution playing out, then we can seek to broaden our view of our possible\nfate as a species by asking questions about what paths or trajectories other\nspecies' own versions of Big History might take or have taken. This paper\nexplores the broad outlines of possible scenarios for the evolution of\nlong-lived intelligent engineering species---scenarios which might have been\npart of another species' own Big History story, or which may yet lie ahead in\nour own distant future. A sufficiently long-lived engineering-oriented species\nmay decide to undertake a program of macro-engineering projects that might\neventually lead to a re-engineered galaxy so altered that its artificiality may\nbe detectable from Earth. We consider activities that lead ultimately to a\ngalactic structure consisting of a central inner core surrounded by a more\ndistant ring of stars separated by a relatively sparser 'gap', where star\nsystems and stellar materials may have been removed, 'lifted' or turned into\nDyson Spheres. When one looks to the sky, one finds that such galaxies do\nindeed exist---including the beautiful ringed galaxy known as 'Hoag's Object'\n(PGC 54559) in the constellation Serpens. This leads us to pose the question:\nIs Hoag's Object an example of galaxy-scale macro-engineering? And this\nsuggests a program of possible observational activities and theoretical\nexplorations, several of which are presented here, that could be carried out in\norder to begin to investigate this beguiling question.\n