The matter raised by Jones intrigued me, so here is what I found and read JUS now:
Thanks to Jones.
JP4Fun
Why is the red supergiant star Betelgeuse in the news?
Beginning in October 2019, astronomers noticed that the brightness of Betelgeuse suddenly began to change. The star was dimming. Once one of the top 10 brightest stars in the sky, its brightness had fallen to 21st place by the end of December 2019. Wild claims have been made about this sudden dimming of Betelgeuse, and many misconceptions spread. Some media outlets claimed the dimming was evidence that the star was about to go supernova, ending its life in a spectacular explosion. Is that possible? And if Betelgeuse did go supernova, how would that affect Earth?
https://earthsky.org/space/betelgeuse-dimming-late-2019-early-2020-supernovaIs Betelgeuse’ dimming unusual? Will the star go supernova?
The dimming of Betelgeuse is not unusual per se. It has been known for a long time that Betelgeuse is a variable star, that is to say one whose brightness fluctuates over time. The star has been found to have multiple cycles of dimming: a 5.9-year main cycle and, within that, several smaller ones. It’s conceivable that – when the minima of all the cycles come together – the star could look exceptionally faint, as it does now.
And there are other possibilities. Astronomers have also suggested that the change in brightness could be due to some sort of eruption of gas or dust, or changes in the star’s surface brightness.
So will Betelgeuse go supernova? Yes! But probably not in our lifetimes. Current understanding is that all supergiants, be they red or blue, end their lives as supernovae. However, in the case of Betelgeuse, this event is predicted to happen anytime within the next few hundred thousand years.
Most astronomers do not believe a supernova is imminent. For example, astronomers Richard Wasatonic and Edward Guinan, of Villanova University, postulate that the current dimming is due to an unusually extreme 425-day dimming cycle within the main 5.9-year one. Unusual, certainly, but nothing that indicates an imminent explosion.
The other thing to remember is that there is no precedent, in astronomy’s history of observing supernovae, for the end of a supergiant star’s life to be preceded by a dimming of its light. Such a phenomenon has not been observed, although it cannot be ruled out. But certainly there is nothing in the computer models of supernovae to indicate the existence of a dimming phase before the explosion.
It must be said, however, that predicting supernovae is very much an inexact science, so there is still a possibility, however remote, that Betelguese’s fiery end could indeed happen tomorrow. Or, to be more exact, it happened 642 years ago and the light from it is about to reach the Earth.
jonesthecurl wrote:jonesthecurl wrote:jonesthecurl wrote:jusplay4fun wrote:What do they call it? Suds and Sky? See stars and suds? JUS wondering....!
Have you been?
JP4Fun
jonesthecurl wrote:I just discovered that at the local brewery at my new address they have an astronomy lecture once a month.
I haven't been yet -just moved in amd there was no December session.
https://www.sudwerkbrew.com/upcoming-onsite.html
Just discovered that they also sometimes do comedy nights...
So I went to this tonight, it was really fascinating. A bunch of topics covered. Why is Betelgeuse dimming, and is it about to go supernova? Neutron stars colliding. How the proposed 40,000 low-earth orbit broadband satellites will interfere with ground-based astronomy, and more. I'll be going again.
