Betelgeuse, the big, red, bright star in the shoulder of the constellation of Orion, isn't bright anymore, and that might be a prelude to something big. Betelgeuse is a huge red giant. How huge? It's radius would extend to somewhere between Mars and Jupiter. That huge. Huge stars tend to burn out quicker, and the red color plus its size means that Betelgeuse has already fused it's hydrogen and is now fusing helium, producing carbon and oxygen. Once the helium is gone, it collapses until it fuses that, producing iron. But once it produces iron, that's the end of the line. The star collapses, and explodes in a supernova.
When Betelgeuse does let go, it will be a sight to behold. We're far enough away that all it will really do is light up our sky. There's a possibility that it could be as bright as a full moon, and visible in the daytime.
This makes the dimming very interesting. Is it collapsing and about to let go? Well, "about" in terms of the light reaching us. Betelgeuse is around 700 light years away, so it could have already exploded, but we just haven't seen it yet. Don't know. When an offspring let me know Betelgeuse had dimmed, that was the first thing that went through our minds.
There's some thought that this might not be a prelude to something spectacular. Betelgeuse is a variable star and has dimmed before, just not this much. But it still makes me go "Hmm."
This evening, despite some clouds, I was able to see Orion and yes, Betelgeuse is a dim shadow of it's former self. I'm usually not good at seeing star color with the naked eye, but I could clearly see that Betelgeuse is red. And yes, I sort of hoped I would be looking at it when it went supernova.
So, as was said in another movie, watch the skies. Who knows? Betelgeuse might go supernova in our lifetime. Maybe even while we're looking at it.
When Betelgeuse does let go, it will be a sight to behold. We're far enough away that all it will really do is light up our sky. There's a possibility that it could be as bright as a full moon, and visible in the daytime.
This makes the dimming very interesting. Is it collapsing and about to let go? Well, "about" in terms of the light reaching us. Betelgeuse is around 700 light years away, so it could have already exploded, but we just haven't seen it yet. Don't know. When an offspring let me know Betelgeuse had dimmed, that was the first thing that went through our minds.
There's some thought that this might not be a prelude to something spectacular. Betelgeuse is a variable star and has dimmed before, just not this much. But it still makes me go "Hmm."
This evening, despite some clouds, I was able to see Orion and yes, Betelgeuse is a dim shadow of it's former self. I'm usually not good at seeing star color with the naked eye, but I could clearly see that Betelgeuse is red. And yes, I sort of hoped I would be looking at it when it went supernova.
So, as was said in another movie, watch the skies. Who knows? Betelgeuse might go supernova in our lifetime. Maybe even while we're looking at it.