"It's Showtime!"
Posted on 02/10/2020 10:33:13 PM PST by BenLurkin
Supergiant star Betelgeuse has been getting dimmer at an unprecedented pace over the past few months, leading some astronomers to wonder if it might be in the process of the collapse that precedes a supernova explosion. But there are other possible explanations, and we should have a better idea of what's happening to the massive star by the end of the month.
Betelgeuse has no more than about 100,000 years left to burn and could start its death throes just about anytime between now and then. When it does go supernova, it's expected to result in a dramatic light show that could be visible in daylight and appear brighter than the full moon for a few weeks. The last time humans were treated to such a sight was the 17th century.
…
Betelgeuse is a well-known variable star that pulsates over a variety of time periods.
"This whole episode might just be a deeper-than-average pulsation, and perhaps the supernova watch can be called off,"
The most recent data from Guinan's team shows that Betelgeuse could be going through an extended 430-day pulsation. If this is the case, then it should reach its dimmest point on Feb. 21 (with a margin of error of about a week on either side).
However, Guinan and colleagues note that Betelgeuse still appears to be even dimmer than it should be during such an extended pulsation. This could mean that there are multiple factors at work in the great fainting of the giant star.
"So something very unusual is going on,"
(Excerpt) Read more at cnet.com ...
It might sound like a nitpick, but whatever is happening to Betelgeuse that we are seeing today happened 700 years ago. I think it is an interesting thing to think about at least.
I’d just like to see it exploding and lighting up the sky. That would be very cool.
"It's Showtime!"
I read where it’s about 700 light years away, so does that mean if it explodes, will it be 700 years before we see it?
I thought bootyjuice was running for prez.
Yeah I’ve heard that too. Betelgeuse was supposed to have gone super nova a long time ago.
Do we really want a supernova going off only 700 light years away? And during a grand solar minimum when our sun’s ability to deflect incoming cosmic rays is minimized. Not that there’s anything we can do about it, at least not beyond prayer, but I hope someone has thought through how close we can survive a supernova of a given size and knows this in beyond the danger zone.
Betelgeuse is actually only 430 light years away.
I was about to ask if that thing can do us harm,
Yes-and it means if it exploded it could have done so in 1330 and we won’t know it for another decade. But-if it does happen-it will not be good if it’s pointed this direction.
No, it means what we see happened 700 years ago.
No, it means what we see happened 700 years ago.
As long as its poles aren’t pointed at us we’ll be OK.
Other wise the Gama Ray burst will fry us even at 700 light years.
Interesting trivia about Betelgeuse. It’s freaking enormous. If our sun was in the center of Betelgeuse, it would be big enough to swallow up the sun, Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, the asteroid belt, and Jupiter.
That’s how big that red dot in that red star in Orion is.
If we see an explosion today, that means it happened 700 years ago. That's why I am kind of irked at the reporting of this. The reporting kind of assumes a Star Trek/Star Wars type universe where things happen instantly and characters know what happened across the galaxy, when the reality is we are limited to the speed of light. They are missing an opportunity to explain the vastness of space.
>>Betelgeuse is actually only 430 light years away.
<<
Oh, then we damn well should panic.
“Other wise the Gama Ray burst will fry us even at 700 light years.”
Not if you wear a foil hat.
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