KIC 8462852 Solved

KIC 8462852 was thought to be a non-descript star. Then suddenly it dimmed for a day! And later once again! Next it was shown to have gradually reduced its light strength for the last century. What causes this unexpected, far out of the ordinary behavior? What obscures the light from this star? Birds? Planes? Superman? Or perchance comets or the debris of a planet smashed up by Superman? Or - nobody believes it - a colossal artificial structure built Superman's kin? None of the above. It is due to the complete ionization of helium atoms.