Astroquizzical: What happens when Betelgeuse explodes?

Starts with a Bang! ^ | February 24, 2015 | Jillian Scudder

[C19fan]

Question: If Betelgeuse explodes right now, could we see it with naked eye? It is over 400 light years away, so you might think that people would see it long after it actually happens? Betelgeuse is already one of the brightest stars in the night sky, sitting somewhere around the 8th or 9th brightest star in the night sky. (These lists don’t include the Sun, which is somewhat obviously always the brightest object in the sky.) It sits in the constellation Orion, along with a number of other bright stars, and makes up the left hand shoulder of the warrior. It looks visibly orange in the night sky, and is classified as a red supergiant star, in the later stages of its life. It’s also one of the few stars that’s close enough for us to resolve in more detail than a point source, and the pictures are pretty fun.

[Resolute Conservative]

Global warming will kill us all before then, Al Gore told me so...

[adaven]

Was this written by a third grader?

I am just glad that they reminded us, twice, that the Sun is the brightest object in our sky.

[X Fretensis]

If Betelgeuse exploded today, our descendants would see it in about 400 years, provided we have not become extinct by then. If we saw Betelgeuse explode today, that means it blew up 400 years ago.

[AFreeBird]

It goes BOOM! Okay, not really. No sound in space. But if there was, it’d be a really big BOOM!

[Verginius Rufus]

Betergeuse is Alpha Orionis (despite being the second-brightest star in Orion). Rigel is Beta Orionis.

According to Wikipedia, its distance is 643 light years (plus or minus 146). So it could have exploded during the Battle of Agincourt and we won't find out for a few more decades.

[Verginius Rufus]

Betergeuse is Alpha Orionis (despite being the second-brightest star in Orion). Rigel is Beta Orionis.

According to Wikipedia, its distance is 643 light years (plus or minus 146). So it could have exploded during the Battle of Agincourt and we won't find out for a few more decades.

[Drew68]

Betelgeuse is already one of the brightest stars in the night sky, sitting somewhere around the 8th or 9th brightest star in the night sky. (These lists don’t include the Sun, which is somewhat obviously always the brightest object in the sky.)

Why would any list of brightest objects in the night sky include the sun?

[Billthedrill]

Well, if it blows today, it will hit us in 2415, or just in time to prevent the Mariners from winning their first World Series.

[zeugma]

Betelgeuse is a freaking huge star. If you plopped it into the solar system in place of the sun, the Earth would be inside the star.

[Verginius Rufus]

...it will hit us in 2415, or just in time to prevent the Mariners from winning their first World Series.

So you are expecting the Cubs to be the NL team in the 2415 World Series?

[Verginius Rufus]

Why would any list of brightest objects in the night sky include the sun?

Beats me, but it reminds me of an old joke:

Two drunks stumble out of a bar at closing time. One of them sees a bright object in the sky and asks the other, "Is that the sun or the moon?" The other man answers, "Sorry, I'm a stranger around here myself."

[Verginius Rufus]

Why would any list of brightest objects in the night sky include the sun?

Beats me, but it reminds me of an old joke:

Two drunks stumble out of a bar at closing time. One of them sees a bright object in the sky and asks the other, "Is that the sun or the moon?" The other man answers, "Sorry, I'm a stranger around here myself."