Hear this out loud

Pause

According to ScienceAlert, Betelgeuse used to be a blue-white O-type star, the most massive kind of main sequence, hydrogen-burning star. The bigger the star, the brighter it shines and the hotter it burns. But also the faster it runs out of its hydrogen and the sooner it turns into a red giant.

Why is Betelgeuse so red?

The low temperature means that the star will appear orange-red in color. Betelgeuse emits almost 7,500 times as much energy as the Sun. The combination of size and temperature tells astronomers that the star is a kind of star called a red super giant. Red super giants are stars that are close to the end of their life.

Why are Betelgeuse and Mars so red?

And while the colors of stars might be hard to detect, some stars – like Aldebaran, Antares and Betelgeuse – are noticeably colorful. On the other hand, Mars appears red for a different reason. It's red because of iron oxide in the dust that covers this desert world. Iron oxide gives rust and blood its red color.

What does the color of Betelgeuse mean?

Betelgeuse is a red supergiant star with a distinctive orange-red hue. Stars in this class are nearing the end of their lives. They are the largest stars in the universe because they puff up and expand out into space in their old age.

Is Betelgeuse going supernova 2023?

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.

Is This The Supernova Signal We Were Waiting For?

What star will explode in 2023?

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.

Is Betelgeuse a threat to Earth?

Will its supernova destroy Earth? Whenever Betelgeuse does blow up, our planet Earth is too far away for this explosion to harm, much less destroy, life on Earth. Studies indicate we'd have to be within 160 light-years of a supernova for it to harm us. And Betelgeuse is perhaps four times this distance.

When did Betelgeuse turn red?

The team found that the star, located in the Orion constellation in the Milky Way around 640 light-years from Earth, changed from a yellow-orange color to red approximately 2,000 years ago.

Will Betelgeuse supernova affect Earth?

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.

Was Betelgeuse always a red giant?

With several historical sources, they found that Betelgeuse—the bright red giant star in the upper left of the constellation Orion—was yellow-orange some 2,000 years ago.

What is the reddest planet in the universe?

When you see Mars in the night sky, it definitely has a reddish tint to it. People have been noticing that for a long time: even the ancient Egyptians called Mars 'The Red One. '

Could Betelgeuse go supernova soon?

Betelgeuse is a red supergiant around 500 to 600 lightyears from Earth and makes up the left shoulder of the constellation Orion. It is expected to go supernova at some point in the next 100,000 years.

Is Betelgeuse in the Milky Way?

Betelgeuse is an enormous star. If we were to place it at the center of our solar system, it would extend all the way to Jupiter. The star's size, combined with its position in our galaxy, the Milky Way, allows astronomers to study Betelgeuse in better detail than most stars.

Why did Betelgeuse go dark?

But Betelgeuse's SME spit out 400 billion times more material, equivalent to several times more mass than the Moon. As the ejected material cooled, it formed a cloud of dust that partially blocked, and thus dimmed, our view of Betelgeuse.

Is Betelgeuse dimming again?

Just as randomly, the dimming halted in February 2020 and the star began to brighten again, and it has now reached its normal levels of intensity. Astronomers have records of Betelgeuse going back half a century, and in those records, they could find no precedent for the 2019 event.

Is Betelgeuse a dying star?

The Death of Betelgeuse

Over the last 100,000 years, Betelgeuse has been shedding shells of its mass, hinting at a potential transition to the next stage in its life. Betelgeuse is expected to explode soon: but in astronomical speak, soon could mean sometime in the next million years.

How long does Betelgeuse have left?

Typically, astronomers suggest it might explode within the next 100,000 years — that is, “soon” on a cosmic timeframe, not a human one.

What is the closest black hole to Earth?

Gaia BH1 is located 1,560 light-years away from Earth, while Gaia BH2 lies around 3,800 light-years away. Even though this means both black holes are located in Earth's backyard (in cosmic terms, at least),they are still over 10 and 20 times as far away as the Hyades cluster and its potential black hole duo or trio.

Will there be a supernova in my lifetime?

“The star's final fate depends on how much material is left after the supernova event,” Nasa said. Dr Stanimir Metchev also said that it was unlikely that it would happen in our lifetime. He said the last stages of a star's life can last hundreds of thousands of years.

What is biggest star in the universe?

The largest known star in the universe is UY Scuti. It has an estimated radius of 1.188 billion kilometers. If UY Scuti were the center of our solar system, its photosphere, or outer shell, would reach just past the orbit of Jupiter.

Is our Sun becoming a red giant?

In approximately five billion years, our own sun will transition to the red giant phase. When it expands, its outer layers will consume Mercury and Venus and also reach Earth.

How long will Betelgeuse explosion last?

Factors such as stellar mass, nuclear fuel consumption, and shock wave propagation influence the duration of such events. While estimates suggest that Betelgeuse's supernova could last anywhere from weeks to months, the precise timing remains elusive.

Should we worry about Betelgeuse?

Betelgeuse is about 15 to 20 times more massive than the Sun, and stars of this mass are expected to end their lives in a powerful explosion known as a supernova. Betelgeuse's red colour shows it is a red supergiant, meaning it's already approaching the end of its life. But that end may still be a million years away.

What would happen if Betelgeuse blew up?

The star is around 500 light-years away. Following an explosion, we first would detect a rain of massless particles called neutrinos, which would be harmless to us. After that, the star would quickly brighten. After one or two weeks it would shine with about the same brightness as the full Moon.

When would we know if Betelgeuse exploded?

Supernova seen from Earth

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.