While it`s a possibility that some scientists are considering, the chances are very high that we haven`t stumbled upon extraterrestrials.

Researchers might be striking a note of caution, but buzz over the story went into hyperspeed as people on social media unleashed a steady stream of alien jokes.

In 2011, amateur researchers from Planet Hunters discovered something strange. The light patterns coming from KIC 8462852, a star roughly 1,500 light years away, were highly unusual.

The readings from the Kepler Space Telescope they were looking at seemed to suggest a star densely surrounded by matter. That is common for young stars, which are often surrounded debris and dust early in their lives. KIC 8462852, however, seems to be a mature star and the telescope didn`t pick up the infrared radiation usually given off by stars surrounded by that kind of dust.

One possible cause of the strange dips in light: alien-built "transiting megastructures" passing in front of the star.

The researchers have stressed to the press that this is a very remote possibility. That hasn`t stopped people from imagining a star system with advanced aliens piloting the Death Star and Imperial Star Destroyers around their home world.

OK, so that is definitely not what`s going on here. But SETI (search for extraterrestrial intelligence) researchers are always looking for outliers, and this definitely counts as a unique find. Now astronomers Jason Wright and Tabetha Boyajian (from Penn State and Yale, respectively) want to take the next step by looking for radio waves from the star that might indicate life.

"I think it`s worthwhile for people to point radio telescopes at the star and check," Wright told NBC News. "It`s the best SETI target we have right now."

Exciting, yes. But in no way have the researchers claimed to have found alien life. They have just found something unusual that they can`t completely explain.

Boyajian, who co-authored a recently released study on the star, has come up with a less fantastic explanation.

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