Zooming out from a Dyson sphere

This animation imagines a hypothetical star and its encompassing Dyson sphere. Zooming out, it can be seen how this alien megastructure can use objects akin to solar panels to partially envelop a star and capture a large part of its energy. The concept is a thought experiment, attempting to imagine how technologically advanced alien civilizations might meet their energy needs. This animation was originally produced for an ESO Chasing Starlight episode on the strangest stars in our Universe.