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To: markomalley; astronomer
Ummm...I though Betelgeuse was a Red Giant...which supposedly ISN'T the type of star that goes supernova.

Can anyone refute/verify that?

55 posted on 01/21/2011 1:56:47 PM PST by Bloody Sam Roberts (Tyrants flourish only when they achieve a standing army, an enslaved press, and a disarmed populace.)
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To: Bloody Sam Roberts
I though Betelgeuse was a Red Giant...which supposedly ISN'T the type of star that goes supernova.

Betelgeuse is a red supergiant (18-19 solar masses). This is exactly the type of star that can be expected to go supernova within a few million years. It is generally believed that any star of more than 10 solar masses will go through a supernova stage after going through a red supergiant stage.

89 posted on 01/21/2011 3:25:49 PM PST by 3niner (When Obama succeeds, America fails.)
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To: Bloody Sam Roberts
Here's a comparative on some massive objects in the galaxy:

Photobucket

93 posted on 01/21/2011 3:36:40 PM PST by mikrofon ("Armpit of the Central One")
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