Post by Andrei Tchentchik on Aug 20, 2020 18:29:00 GMT 2
(.#488).- Will the Betelgeuse star soon explode as a supernova?
Will the Betelgeuse star soon explode as a supernova?
Is Betelgeuse's flame going out? Visible to the naked eye, the radiance of the red supergiant which marks Orion's left shoulder has been continuously decreasing since October. What is going on ? Will it stop?
Xavier Demeersman article
Published on 04/01/2020
Betelgeuse is one of the most sparkling stars of winter nights. Its flamboyant radiance marks the left shoulder of the famous Hunter Orion, a constellation that does not escape the eyes of the curious who raise their eyes to the sky at this time. For several weeks, the one we are used to seeing as sparkling as the blue Rigel (Orion's right foot) has not stopped growing pale, even to the point of shining less than Aldebaran, the red eye of Taurus . In a few days, it went from 10th to 21st place of the brightest stars.
So, certainly, the changes in luminosity of this red supergiant are not new, Betelgeuse is known to be a variable star with gigantic mood swings, in particular eruptions, which can veil its face for several days and thus make it less visible. But this time, its characteristic orange-red glow reached a level never seen by astronomers in a century. It, whose brightness can reach magnitude 0.2 at the highest, displayed on December 21 a magnitude greater than 1.4 (the closer the value is to 0, the brighter the object), which brings it closer to its neighbor, the other shoulder of Orion, Bellatrix (magnitude 1.6).
Coincidence between the hot spot in the polar zone of Betelgeuse and a plume of loss of mass. The central image (orange hues) shows the surface of the star and the presence of a hot spot. Blue tones indicate the presence of dust created from the material ejected by the star. © Pierre Kervella
The giant palpitations of Betelgeuse
Naturally, faced with this weakening more important than usual, many wonder: would these be the harbingers of its explosion in supernova? Are we witnessing his last days? No doubt it would be an extraordinary and indelible spectacle, one of those especially which astrophysicists dream of the most because this type of event is so rare in our Galaxy - the "fire" of a supernova lights up the Milky Way once per century on average. What is more, it would happen close to home, only about 700 light years away. We would therefore be in the front row and far enough anyway to be spared the cataclysm.
A massive star, Betelgeuse has a life expectancy well below that of small stars like the Sun (15 times less massive). Born about eight million years ago, it has already burned most of its fuel reserves and is now running out of steam: a violent collapse of its outer layers on its heart which will result in its explosion in a supernova. And it could happen soon: within 10,000 years, a cosmic-wide blink. For now, the giant (about 1,000 times the radius of the Sun) inflates and deflates, passing from a diameter equivalent to the orbit of Mars to that of Jupiter!
Steve Brown – Astronomer :
I photographed various nearby bright stars to compare to #Betelgeuse on 20 December. I estimated it at less than mag 1 but see what you think. Same settings used for all and defocused to bring out the colors.
10h50 - 30 déc. 2019
SN1987A: the accelerated explosion of the famous supernova for 30 years At a rate of 4 years per second, this NASA video shows the explosion of the supernova discovered in 1987 and followed for 30 years. Considering the distance, these events occurred 168,000 years ago. The dying star first expelled the ring of matter (shown in red). 20,000 later, it exploded: it was the flash observed in 1987. The material ejected at high speed, followed by a telescope, now strikes the ring. This shock wave heats the material, which has become very bright.
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Will the Betelgeuse star soon explode as a supernova?
Is Betelgeuse's flame going out? Visible to the naked eye, the radiance of the red supergiant which marks Orion's left shoulder has been continuously decreasing since October. What is going on ? Will it stop?
Xavier Demeersman article
Published on 04/01/2020
Betelgeuse is one of the most sparkling stars of winter nights. Its flamboyant radiance marks the left shoulder of the famous Hunter Orion, a constellation that does not escape the eyes of the curious who raise their eyes to the sky at this time. For several weeks, the one we are used to seeing as sparkling as the blue Rigel (Orion's right foot) has not stopped growing pale, even to the point of shining less than Aldebaran, the red eye of Taurus . In a few days, it went from 10th to 21st place of the brightest stars.
So, certainly, the changes in luminosity of this red supergiant are not new, Betelgeuse is known to be a variable star with gigantic mood swings, in particular eruptions, which can veil its face for several days and thus make it less visible. But this time, its characteristic orange-red glow reached a level never seen by astronomers in a century. It, whose brightness can reach magnitude 0.2 at the highest, displayed on December 21 a magnitude greater than 1.4 (the closer the value is to 0, the brighter the object), which brings it closer to its neighbor, the other shoulder of Orion, Bellatrix (magnitude 1.6).
Coincidence between the hot spot in the polar zone of Betelgeuse and a plume of loss of mass. The central image (orange hues) shows the surface of the star and the presence of a hot spot. Blue tones indicate the presence of dust created from the material ejected by the star. © Pierre Kervella
The giant palpitations of Betelgeuse
Naturally, faced with this weakening more important than usual, many wonder: would these be the harbingers of its explosion in supernova? Are we witnessing his last days? No doubt it would be an extraordinary and indelible spectacle, one of those especially which astrophysicists dream of the most because this type of event is so rare in our Galaxy - the "fire" of a supernova lights up the Milky Way once per century on average. What is more, it would happen close to home, only about 700 light years away. We would therefore be in the front row and far enough anyway to be spared the cataclysm.
A massive star, Betelgeuse has a life expectancy well below that of small stars like the Sun (15 times less massive). Born about eight million years ago, it has already burned most of its fuel reserves and is now running out of steam: a violent collapse of its outer layers on its heart which will result in its explosion in a supernova. And it could happen soon: within 10,000 years, a cosmic-wide blink. For now, the giant (about 1,000 times the radius of the Sun) inflates and deflates, passing from a diameter equivalent to the orbit of Mars to that of Jupiter!
Steve Brown – Astronomer :
I photographed various nearby bright stars to compare to #Betelgeuse on 20 December. I estimated it at less than mag 1 but see what you think. Same settings used for all and defocused to bring out the colors.
10h50 - 30 déc. 2019
SN1987A: the accelerated explosion of the famous supernova for 30 years At a rate of 4 years per second, this NASA video shows the explosion of the supernova discovered in 1987 and followed for 30 years. Considering the distance, these events occurred 168,000 years ago. The dying star first expelled the ring of matter (shown in red). 20,000 later, it exploded: it was the flash observed in 1987. The material ejected at high speed, followed by a telescope, now strikes the ring. This shock wave heats the material, which has become very bright.
Please update your browser or try a different one.
(reportld: 1e246mcld71ldpkg)
F I N .
