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Bye-bye, Betelgeuse?
A nearby, well-known and very bright star may soon explode in a supernova, according to data released by U.C. Berkeley researchers Tuesday.
The red giant Betelgeuse, once so large it would reach out to Jupiter's orbit if placed in our own solar system, has shrunk by 15 percent over the past decade in a half, although it's just as bright as it's ever been.
As near as I can tell, there's no precise measurement of the size of Betelgeuse because the gas surrounding it both radiates and absorbs light. If it does explode, it should provide an impressive, non-dangerous, light show 600 years after the explosion. Ande ven if Betelgeuse blows out of existance, the gas clouds ejected from it may provide material for the birth of new stars.
I'm very glad it is 640 light years away. My only concern is the axis of rotation. When neutron stars form, they create shafts of gamma radiation. Not saying that Beetlejuice Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is going to go that route, but just raising the issue as a topic of discussion.
I saw a documentary on the subject about 4 or 5 months ago and Betelgeuse came up. If it did go super nova and it was pointed in our direction, we would be toast! Regardless, we should have 600 years notice, unless it did it 600 years ago and we're about to be toast now. What can I say, betwseen Jellystone Park, volcano on islands off African coast that can slide into ocean creating 600 foot sunamie (sp), Volcanos in far east, earthquakes in LA, North Korea, Pakistan, Iran, just somthing else to be concerned about. Nice.
Interestingly, I'm finding a wide variation in the estimated distance of Betelgeuse, anywhere from less than 430 LY to over 600 LY. Not sure why. Regardless, it's an unbelievably gigantic star.
It could become a neutron star or a pulsar, but no one really knows when it will blow or what it will become. For people who don't know much about neutron stars and pulsars, here are a couple of links that can help understand them. The first one has a couple of pretty good animated gifs that show behavior. Neutron stars
Just for what it's worth, Betelgeuse truly a gigantic star that would
make our sun look invisible next to it. But there are other stars that
make Betelgeuse look small. Check this video for mind-numbing size
comparisons.
Yeah, I hope scientists watch this one carefully. If it looks like it is going to collapse into a neutron star with an axis of neutron radiation pointed in our direction, or a pulsar, then we're in deep doo doo. Time for those underground colonies!
Yeah, I hope scientists watch this one carefully. If it looks like it is going to collapse into a neutron star with an axis of neutron radiation pointed in our direction, or a pulsar, then we're in deep doo doo. Time for those underground colonies!
Wouldn't work. Seriously, there would be nothing that could be done to shield life in such a situation. The good news is the distance and the fairly narrow beam make such a situation EXTREMELY improbable.
I saw a documentary on the subject about 4 or 5 months ago and Betelgeuse came up. If it did go super nova and it was pointed in our direction, we would be toast! Regardless, we should have 600 years notice, unless it did it 600 years ago and we're about to be toast now. What can I say, betwseen Jellystone Park, volcano on islands off African coast that can slide into ocean creating 600 foot sunamie (sp), Volcanos in far east, earthquakes in LA, North Korea, Pakistan, Iran, just somthing else to be concerned about. Nice.
I think the volcanic islands(I forget their name) have fractured into a landslide before and are close again. Water intrusions between volcanic columns are destabilizing the entire western side of the island. Back on track if people are not aware check out www.WorldWideTelescope.org it is a great site ....you can rotate planets etc.
What was that? It felt like a sudden change in the force... as if thousands of voices suddenly cried out in terror and then were silent.
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