The "right shoulder" in the constellation Orion (or left shoulder, as seen from Earth), Betelgeuse (or Alpha Orionis) is one of the brightest stars in the night sky and one of the largest stars ever discovered. But there is more to this ultra-bright stellar monster than meets the eye.
Betelgeuse is located in the Milky Way galaxy. This is the same galaxy that the Earth is located in. It is a red supergiant star, and it is about 640 light years from our solar system. Betelgeuse makes up part of the constellation Orion and is one of the brightest stars in the sky.
Betelgeuse is easily discernible to even the casual observer, not only because of its brightness and position in the brilliant Orion but also because of its deep reddish colour. The star is approximately 548 light-years from Earth. Betelgeuse is a red supergiant star roughly 764 times as large as the Sun.
Betelgeuse is of a lovely orange-red colour and is decidedly variable; at times it can rise almost to magnitude 0.0. I have seen it equal Rigel – while at its dimmest it is comparable with Aldebaran. It has a rough period of just over five years and it is very rough indeed.
Life on Earth will be unharmed. But that doesn't mean it will go unnoticed. Goldberg and Bauer found that when Betelgeuse explodes, it will shine as bright as the half-Moon — nine times fainter than the full Moon — for more than three months. “All this brightness would be concentrated into one point,” Howell says.
Either way, it seems likely that Betelgeuse will be the Milky Way galaxy's next supernova but this wouldn't happen anytime soon. It could even be another 100,000 years before Betelgeuse's light is finally extinguished.
At mid-northern latitudes, around the first of every year, Betelgeuse rises around sunset. The star is prominent on January and February evenings. By the beginning of March, this star is due south in early evening. By mid-May, it is briefly visible in the west after sunset.
Betelgeuse, about 640,000 light years away, is one of the closest and brightest stars to Earth, and its violent death will be visible from our planet. Scientists have been curious whether the explosion, called supernova, will happen soon because the star has been dimming significantly over the past few years.
“We conclude that Betelgeuse should currently be in a late phase (or near the end) of the core carbon burning,” the paper notes. “After carbon is exhausted in the core, a core-collapse leading to a supernova explosion is expected in in a few tens [of] years.”
While Betelgeuse's supernova is not expected to cause direct harm to life on Earth, it could potentially have some atmospheric effects. The explosion would release a burst of ultraviolet radiation, which could deplete the ozone layer temporarily.
Betelgeuse is one of the luminaries of the constellation Orion, marking the upper left corner of the parallelogram of stars encompassing the famed stellar trio of "Orion's Belt". You can see Orion in the south on February evenings. The eighth brightest star in the night sky, Betelgeuse appears red-orange.
The biggest star in the universe (that we know of), UY Scuti is a variable hypergiant with a radius around 1,700 times larger than the radius of the sun. To put that in perspective, the volume of almost 5 billion suns could fit inside a sphere the size of UY Scuti.
Betelgeuse's Supernova Timeline: While it is challenging to accurately determine the exact year when Betelgeuse will go supernova, astronomers have made predictions based on observations and scientific models. As of the latest research, it is believed that the supernova event could occur within the next 100,000 years.
How many light years does it take to get to Betelgeuse?
Betelgeuse is around 700 light-years away. This means that it takes the light from this star about 700 years to reach Earth, so if you see Betelgeuse in the night sky, you're seeing the star from about 700 years ago.
If you're in the Northern Hemisphere, then you will see Betelgeuse rising in the east just after sunset during the earlier part of January. However, during the months either side of this time period – namely mid-September through to mid- March, Betelgeuse is visible to virtually everyone, all around the globe.
Now consider this: It's believed that Betelgeuse, a giant red star in the constellation Orion, is approaching the end of its life cycle. Most scientists believe it will become a supernova in the near future.
Although some hype up Betelgeuse's looming doom, its coming explosion, called a supernova, might not happen for at least tens of thousands of years, if not more like some 100,000.
When Betelgeuse finally does give up the ghost, it will explode in a brilliant supernova so bright it will be visible from Earth during the day. That explosion could happen as soon as tomorrow or as far flung as 100,000 years from now.
Betelgeuse will one day go supernova, but exactly when that might be is a subject of much debate. One study led by Hideyuki Saio from Tohoku University in Japan simulated Betelgeuse's vibrations, leading them to believe the star could be in the final stages of its life, where it is burning carbon in its core.
