FfFfFfFF 58,072 Posted June 16, 2021 Share Posted June 16, 2021 Astronomers say they've put to bed the mystery of why one of the most familiar stars in the night sky suddenly dimmed just over a year ago. Betelgeuse, a red supergiant in the constellation of Orion, abruptly darkened in late 2019, early 2020. The behaviour led many to speculate that it might be about to explode. But a team using the Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Chile says the cause was almost certainly a giant dust cloud between us and the star. Even if you can't name many points in the sky, you'll definitely know Betelgeuse by sight. It's the orange dot in the top-left corner of Orion - or bottom-right, if you're viewing the constellation in the Southern Hemisphere. Close to Earth, relatively speaking, at a distance of about 550 light-years, Betelgeuse is what's known as a semi-regular variable star. It naturally brightens and darkens over a period of roughly 400 days. https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-57501416 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
weed 78,889 Posted June 16, 2021 Share Posted June 16, 2021 That’s interesting Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Economy 52,842 Posted June 16, 2021 Share Posted June 16, 2021 I know the odds are super low but id love for it to go nova in our life times. Id love to see it Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonkers 30,860 Posted June 16, 2021 Share Posted June 16, 2021 14 minutes ago, Economy said: I know the odds are super low but id love for it to go nova in our life times. Id love to see it Amazingly, it's 642 light years away, so if happens in our lifetime, it actually happened 642 years ago Remember to like and subscribe, and click on the bell icon to get the latest updates Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Economy 52,842 Posted June 16, 2021 Share Posted June 16, 2021 3 minutes ago, Bonkers said: Amazingly, it's 642 light years away, so if happens in our lifetime, it actually happened 642 years ago I know... i mean in our time of reference Aparently it would be as bright as the full moon Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PartySick 172,439 Posted June 16, 2021 Share Posted June 16, 2021 18 minutes ago, Economy said: I know the odds are super low but id love for it to go nova in our life times. Id love to see it Same It'll look as bright as a full moon for about a month before slowly disappearing over the next four months imagine seeing a star disappear in months We'd also witness the birth of a neutron star Imagine all we could learn about the formation of heavy elements on the universe by studying the ejecta too Dear Betelgeuse, please die Whimsical bitch Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Economy 52,842 Posted June 16, 2021 Share Posted June 16, 2021 5 minutes ago, PartySick said: Same It'll look as bright as a full moon for about a month before slowly disappearing over the next four months imagine seeing a star disappear in months We'd also witness the birth of a neutron star Imagine all we could learn about the formation of heavy elements on the universe by studying the ejecta too Dear Betelgeuse, please die Just a neutron star? I woulda thought it be massive enough for a black hole Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PartySick 172,439 Posted June 16, 2021 Share Posted June 16, 2021 6 minutes ago, Economy said: Just a neutron star? I woulda thought it be massive enough for a black hole It's between 15-20 solar masses, a star is thought to need about 30 solar masses to become a black hole A lot of a star's matter is lost during the initial supernova too so most of that won't even be part of the body that's left behind. Whimsical bitch Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PartySick 172,439 Posted June 16, 2021 Share Posted June 16, 2021 26 minutes ago, Economy said: Just a neutron star? I woulda thought it be massive enough for a black hole There's a pretty interesting paper done by astronomers in 2017 that predict Betelgeuse will leave behind a neutron star that's about 1.5 solar masses https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/0004-637X/819/1/7/meta There is another star that we might have seen become a black hole though https://www.google.com/amp/s/api.nationalgeographic.com/distribution/public/amp/science/article/astronomers-see-star-become-black-hole-neutron-star It's crazy far away though and the event happened around 200 million years ago Whimsical bitch Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stupid Oreo 14,669 Posted June 16, 2021 Share Posted June 16, 2021 1 hour ago, Economy said: I know the odds are super low but id love for it to go nova in our life times. Id love to see it You would be dead if a star close exploded i think At least when the explosion hits our planet Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PartySick 172,439 Posted June 16, 2021 Share Posted June 16, 2021 4 minutes ago, Stupid Oreo said: You would be dead if a star close exploded i think At least when the explosion hits our planet Nah, Betelgeuse is well outside the danger zone for us. When the actual shockwave of the explosion hits Earth it'll be so weak that the only way we'd be able to distinguish it from solar wind from our sun is due to the direction it's coming from. The only thing that would happen to us is we'd get a spectacular light show for a few months Whimsical bitch Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Economy 52,842 Posted June 16, 2021 Share Posted June 16, 2021 1 hour ago, PartySick said: It's between 15-20 solar masses, a star is thought to need about 30 solar masses to become a black hole A lot of a star's matter is lost during the initial supernova too so most of that won't even be part of the body that's left behind. Yeah i know most gets blown off... u need about 4-5 solar masses to stay behind in order to create a blackhole if im not mistaken Im just surprised Betegeuse is only 15-20 solar masses given its size. I guess it must be even more ultra puffy and low density than i thought i actually didnt know the mass of betelgeuse but i thought it was way more, hence i thought it would make a blackhole Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Economy 52,842 Posted June 16, 2021 Share Posted June 16, 2021 57 minutes ago, Stupid Oreo said: You would be dead if a star close exploded i think At least when the explosion hits our planet Not at over 600 light years away At that distance u can see intense brightness but it wont destroy our atmosphere Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PartySick 172,439 Posted June 17, 2021 Share Posted June 17, 2021 9 minutes ago, Economy said: Im just surprised Betegeuse is only 15-20 solar masses given its size. I guess it must be even more ultra puffy and low density than i thought i actually didnt know the mass of betelgeuse but i thought it was way more, hence i thought it would make a blackhole I was under the same impression until I went on a wiki tangent recently Whimsical bitch Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chromatica Island 8,517 Posted June 17, 2021 Share Posted June 17, 2021 I wanted to see it explode damn it Any/All Pronouns, Genderfluid🏳⚧ Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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