Will Betelgeuse become a second sun?
Cool image, but we won't see this from Earth when Betelgeuse goes supernova sometime in the next thousand - or million - years. Image via Geekosystem
Short answer: no. If you’ve read or heard that the star Belelgeuse might explode in a few weeks or a few months – that it will temporarily add a second sun to Earth’s sky and somehow also possibly prove the world will end in 2012 (to which we can only say, “huh?”) – you might want to find more reliable sources. While it’s possible that Betelgeuse will explode in our lifetimes, it isn’t likely. Someday, Betelgeuse will become a supernova. This event is just as likely to happen thousands or millions of years from now as tomorrow.
What’s more, the best minds among astrophysicists assure us that even when Betelgeuse does blow up, our planet Earth is too far away for this explosion to destroy life on Earth. They say we’d have to be within 50 light-years of a supernova for it to harm us. Betelgeuse is nearly 10 times this distance, so Betelgeuse will not destroy life on Earth. But astronomers will be extremely thrilled to have a relatively nearby supernova to study, and the rest of us will be treated to an amazingly beautiful sight in the night sky – a very, very, very bright star.
Science
Betelgeuse lies some 430 light-years from Earth. Yet it’s already one of the brightest stars in Earth’s sky. The reason is that Betelgeuse is a supergiant star. It is intrinsically very brilliant.
Such brilliance comes at a price, however. Betelgeuse is one of the most famous stars in the sky because it’s due to explode someday. Betelgeuse’s enormous energy requires that the fuel be expended quickly (relatively speaking), and in fact Betelgeuse is now near the end of its lifetime. Someday soon (astronomically speaking), it will run out of fuel, collapse under its own weight, and then rebound in a spectacular supernova explosion. When this happens – which could be tomorrow or a million years in the future – Betelgeuse will brighten enormously for a few weeks or months, perhaps as bright as the full moon and visible in broad daylight.
Could a nearby supernova harm life on Earth in 2012? Nah.
Betelgeuse imaged in ultraviolet light by the Hubble Space Telescope and subsequently enhanced by NASA. The bright white spot is likely one of its poles. NASA/ESA credit.
Fortunately for us, it appears that there will be few, if any, adverse affects to Earth when Betelgeuse goes supernova.
If Betelgeuse were side by side with our sun, you’d find it 10,000 times brighter than the sun in visible light. It might be surprising then to learn that the surface temperature of Betelgeuse is only about 6,000 degrees F (3,600K) in contrast to the sun’s 10,000 degrees F.
In terms of mass, Betelgeuse is thought to be about 15 times the mass of the sun, but 600 times wider and more than 200 million times its volume! When you consider its size, as well as the infrared and other radiations it pumps out, Betelgeuse probably outshines our sun by at least 50,000 times.
How to see it
At mid-northern latitudes around the first of every year, Betelgeuse rises around sunset. The star is very well placed for viewing in southeast to south on February evenings.
Betelgeuse is a star in the constellation Orion, which is noticeable for the short, straight row of three medium-bright stars at its mid-section.
By the beginning of March, this star is due south in early evening. By mid-May, it can be glimpsed briefly in the west after sunset. Betelgeuse is traveling behind the sun in early summer, but it returns to the east before dawn by about mid-July.
Betelgeuse – in the famous constellation Orion – is easy to spot. See our sky chart to learn the pattern of the constellation Orion the Hunter. Orion itself is noticeable for the short, straight row of three medium-bright stars in its mid-section. Betelgeuse is in the upper left corner of the large rectangle forming Orion.
The star Betelgeuse has a distinctive color: somber orange-red. It’s ideal for convincing non-believers that stars do, in fact, come in colors.
Stars designated as Alpha are typically brightest in their constellations. But Betelgeuse is Alpha Orionis, despite the fact that it’s fainter than Orion’s other bright star, Rigel. Betelgeuse is the 10th brightest star in the sky overall, and it’s the 7th brightest star visible from most of the U.S., Canada, Europe and the majority of the northern hemisphere.
History and myth
Remember the movie Beetlejuice? This star’s name is similar.
The proper names of many bright stars are Arabic in origin. This fact reflects the dominance of Arabic astronomers and astrologers during Europe’s Dark Ages. The name Betelgeuse apparently is derived from an Arabic phrase that is usually translated as The Armpit of the Giant. Of course the Giant refers to Orion, but – rather than an armpit – some authors see Betelgeuse as representing a hand or sometimes a shoulder. While it is not entirely clear what the name means, in any event, Betelgeuse marks the right shoulder of Orion in many old star maps.
In the ancient myths, Orion is most often associated with a giant, a warrior, a hunter, a god or some other anthropomorphic or animal figure, so it is not surprising that most depictions of Betelgeuse have an anatomical connection. The Sanskrit name signified an arm, too, for example, although it likely was really the leg of a stag. In parts of Brazil Betelgeuse was seen as the hind leg of a cayman (crocodilian) or the foreleg of a turtle. On the other hand, in ancient Japan, Betelgeuse was considered to be part of the rim of a ceremonial drum. In Peru, it was one of four vultures about the devour a criminal.
So come to know Betelgeuse. And don’t worry. The chances of it exploding in our lifetimes are … well, astronomically small. Even if it did explode, it would not add a second sun to Earth’s sky. It would not prove the world will end in 2012. It would be, most likely, a wonderful natural event that we’d all tell our grandchildren about.
The position of Betelgeuse is RA 05h 55m 10.3053s, dec +07° 24′ 25.4″.
Some consider that the massive irregular star, Eta Carinae, in the Southern Constellation of Carina, is also likely to explode soon ( < 1 million years) It has 100 x Mass of Sun, or 7 times the mass of Betelgeuse; it is a classic ,candidate for a full blown Supernova. But it is 20 x further from us than is Betelegeuse, at 8500 light years .
If a supernova Type 2 is a standard candle with Absolute Mag -19, then Eta Carina would reach Mag -6 to -5 or so – brighter than Venus, but not up to Full Moon staus.
While unlikely to outshine Betelgeuse, it might beat it to the punch- after all, it has exhinbited some pretty strange and ominous behaviour in the past 150 years or so.
One observing treat for the Northern Hemisphere, one for the South- there is fairness after all?
It would be cool if both blew at once!!
As for 2012 and all that, would you trust the Mayans, who, under Yikin Can Ga'will at Tikal, slaughtered thousands in "open heart surgery" to keep the gods happy, and were rewarded with a genocidal drought?
Their judgemant is at least suspect.
Our own rulers meanwhile prepare to sacrifice the lives and livelihoods of billions in artifical famines and energy shortages, in an energy and resources rich solar system, to keep our Climate gods sweet ( or to "Save the Planet", in modern jargon) – have we learned nothing?
The best way we can save Earth's ecosystems, if threatened , is to disperse our people and industries out into Space, and leave Earth mostly for other lifeforms and the less active memebrs of our species. We would create wealth, opportunity and hope for our descendants by such enterprise, not despair and poverty as is currently on the menu!
Malthus and Orwell are poor examples for our youth, to whom we must say, "Go Up, Young Man, or even Woman!"
"Earth is the Cradle of Mind- but one does not Live in the Cradle forever!"
[...] sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betelgeuse http://domeofthesky.com/clicks/betelgeuse.html http://earthsky.org/brightest-stars/betelgeuse-will-explode-someday http://news.discovery.com/space/big-pic-betelgeuse-eso-nebula-star-death-110623.html [...]
[...] http://earthsky.org/brightest-stars/betelgeuse-will-explode-someday [...]
like this topic
when the matter is expelled after the nova, does it travel slower than the particles of light?
If the Sun collapses into a black hole would light escape from its transformations? and matter?
Justin,
Yes any particles of matter (such as protons or other subatomic particles) travel slower than particles of light (photons). However, when they are ejected from a supernova, some of those matter particles can be traveling at a significant fraction of the speed of light.
To be clear, our Sun will not collapse into a black hole. But yes, when a star collapses into a black hole, the material falling into it does radiate various forms of light (electromagnetic radiation). However, once within the black hole, the matter does not radiate any light that we can detect. Not that we just don’t have the instruments to detect it, but rather than any light inside the black hole simply cannot get out.
However, over very long periods of time, some particles and radiation are thought possibly to escape the black hole through a process called “Hawking radiation.” This is at a very low level, however.
[...] on the dark dome of a winter night. The Winter Circle lassos around Orion’s bright ruddy star Betelgeuse, and this loop of stars circles so far out from Betelgeuse that the Winter Circle even dwarfs Orion [...]
How did you make your blog site look this sick! Email me if you get the chance and share your wisdom. Id be thankful!
If Betelgeuse will explode, what will happen to the small particles of the star???
We cannot tell the truth that the explosion of the star will happen at the year of the 2012…
Mary Trisha, the “small particles,” mostly subatomic particles like protons and electrons, along with the nuclei of a wide variety of elements, will spread out into space. As they spread, they thin out very rapidly. By the time they spread out only a tiny, tiny fraction of the distance of say, Earth, they will have become rarified and much thinner than the air of our planet. They will produce a beautiful cloud of particles known as a supernova remnant or a supernova nebula.
The chance of Betelgeuse going supernova in 2012, or being visible at Earth as a supernova in 2012, are very small. We know in reason that it is likely to happen sometime soon in an astronomical sense (which could be anytime from today to perhaps a million years from now), but we do not know precisely when. While it could go at any time, the chances of it going supernova in 2012 are — in my guess — somewhere between one in a thousand and one in a million. We have no observational evidence to suggest that it will happen in 2012 or any other particular year.
Is it true that, are zodiac signs are the constellation of the stars too? Why?
Is it true that black hole will suck the earth?? Why?
Where does black hole come from???
Mary Trisha, the so-called “Zodiac” signs are indeed constellations of stars as well. I do not know why except that ancient astrologers placed significance on those constellations because the Sun happens to pass through them during the year.
No, it is not true that they Earth will be sucked into a black hole. First off, there are no black holes anywhere near us and they do not pose any danger to us at all.
Black holes come from exploded stars. There are none near us and no stars near us are likely to explode anytime soon. Betelgeuse, if it does happen to explode anytime in our lifetimes, likely will form a black hole, but it is much too far away to be a problem for Earth.
I love to look at Betelgeuse and the contrasting Rigel opposite , the brightness of Rigel is superb and Betelgeuse glows orange . What a lovely sight in the winter sky .
[...] more information, take a look at: http://earthsky.org/brightest-stars/betelgeuse-will-explode-someday http://news.discovery.com/space/dont-panic-betelgeuse-wont-explode-in-2012.html Share [...]
i like this subject in science
“Betelgeuse lies some 430 light-years from Earth. Yet it’s already one of the brightest stars in Earth’s sky. The reason is that Betelgeuse is a supergiant star. It is intrinsically very brilliant.”
Betelgeuse is not 430 light years from earth.. you stupid? its 650 light years. LEARN SOME STUFF K?
“I love to look at Betelgeuse and the contrasting Rigel opposite , the brightness of Rigel is superb and Betelgeuse glows orange . What a lovely sight in the winter sky .”
Martin shum says.
Rigel is Blue. Betelgeuse is red… Learn some science will ya?
“Black holes come from exploded stars. There are none near us and no stars near us are likely to explode anytime soon. Betelgeuse, if it does happen to explode anytime in our lifetimes, likely will form a black hole, but it is much too far away to be a problem for Earth.”
PEOPLE REALLY! IM ONLY FREAKING 14 AND I KNOW MORE THAN YOU!
Yes black holes do come from exploded stars. And Betelgeuse is 250 times bigger than the sun. If betelgeuse did explode it would reach us. And plus! Betelgeuse is way hotter than the sun. The sun=1 sun. Betelgeuse=60,000 suns.
And plus! its not spelled Betelgeuse! its spelled Betelgeux! :P
And yes. There are some stars near us. 600 light years is probably the closest star to us.
Thats Betelgeux. And anyway 600 light years is only 111,600,000 miles away from us. Betelgeux is supposed to reach about 115,000,000 miles!
Actually,
600 lightyears (600 times the distance light travels in 1 year in perfect vacüum)
= 3,5 x 10 pow16 miles
How did I calculate this?
A) 1 mile (english) = 1609,347meters
B) speed of light c:
299 792 458 m/s
C) number of seconds in a year:
60 (s) x 60 (m) x 24 (h) x 365 (d) = 31536000
D) distance travelled by light in a year:
299792458 x 31536000 = 94543113355488000 meters
E) distance in 600 years:
600 x 94543113355488000 = 567258680132928000000 meters
F) conversion from meters to miles (1/1609,347)
567258680132928000000 / 1609,347 = 35247754532299622,14488236533026 miles
= 3,5 x 10 pow16 miles
SO: just a tiny bit further away than your mere 115,000,000 1.15 x 10 pow10 miles. I kind of think we’re pretty safe from the evil orange ball you seem so terrified of.
Finally, a little bit of advise:
1) I suggest, before making any statement about being more intelligent than others, you get your calculation a little better.
2) When making an argument and trying to state it with those calculations, at least try not to represent yourself as an illiterate 14-year old infant by using strong language.
Yours sincerely,
Another random guy (who actually knows how excel works)
Exact-calculator: Thanks. You have made an *EXCEL*lent point. Betelgeuse is indeed much, much farther than 115,000,000 miles! But I think it is 3,5 x 10 pow15 miles (not 16). BTW, I assume you must be in the UK or Europe. In the U.S. we would write this slightly differently, as 3.5 x 10^15 miles or 3.5E+015 miles.
Dear randomdude,
Thank you for your courteous comment. The fact is that the distance to Beteleguese is difficult to guage in part due to its variable nature. Estimates range from 400 to about 800 light years. Astronomers do not know for sure, and neither do you. And spelling is a matter of convention. It is probably to your advantage to check around a bit before making comments.
Woah! BETELGEUSE IS GONNA EXPLODE!?
I appreciate all of the comments above and would like to add something from my lifelong study of metaphysics and parapsychology. I believe that the explosion of Betelgeuse is the “Warning” spoken about in the many Marian apparitions. If this is valid, it should occur within the next few years and the “Sign” to occur within a year after that and then the “Destruction” to occur soon after that. This information (speculation) is free and hopefully will be worth more than that at some time in the future. Remember, the future belongs to the prepared.
TJ,
I am not sure what you mean by “Marian apparitions,” but I can say clearly and unambiguously that EarthSky is a site that is dedicated as a “Clear voice for science.” It is not about metaphysics, spirituality or beliefs basd on non-evidentiary faith. Science requires physical evidence and logical reasonaing, and metaphysics does not supply that. Therefore, true science does not accept “signs” if they are not accompanied by reason and good evidence. There is no – *NO* – physical evidence to support any claim that any future explosion of Betelgeuse — which by the evidence of scientific observation is likely to occur sometime between today and the next half million years — will have any deleteriius effect on Earth. Supernovae occur all the time across the Universe, although locally (in the Milky Way) they may occur, on the average only once every 300 years or so. They are not a “sign” of anything other than the fact the astrophysical modeling of the Universe is more or less correct. We do not know everything, but we can say pretty confidently that supernova explosions are a natural part of the Universe, and they have no mystical or metaphysical meaning.
I just saw a star explode !!! I was looking at Mars, then turned around and looked North. 2 stars were there. One got so bright, I was saying to myself “What the heck is that ??? Then that bright star just disappeared. There almost seemed to be a little cloud left over.
I live in Murrieta California and it was about 8.oo pm.
Ria, I am not sure what you saw, but I can say with a good bit of confidence that it was not an exploding star. Such are extremely rare, at least those bright enough to be seen with the unaided human eye. If a star had exploded, that fact would have been all over the Internet this morning, yet there is no mention I can find.
More likely you saw meteor that was oriented more or less coming right toward you (but still maybe 50-100 miles away). Some meteors explode, and it my guess that this is what you saw. Sometimes they do leave a trail, so if it was headed in your direction, this might look like a little cloud. I can’t think of any other astronomical or meteorlogical event that would look like a star exploding.
Larry, too bad, but you know more than I do ! The 2 stars I saw were about the same size and brightness (not very bright) The one on the right side got very bright, like Venus, but bigger than Venus, then it got smaller and smaller till there was nothing, just a faint puff of cloud. I have seen satellites that do get brighter when they move and disappear and this was not moving across the sky. So if you think a meteor, then that must have been it.
Rai, I cannot say for sure that it was an exploding meteor. The only thing I can say for sure is that it was not an exploding star. NASA, ESA and the Russian Space Agency occasionally launch rockets that can release gasses and appear somewhat like what you mention, but I know of none last night. It is possble that there could have been such a launch out of Vandenberg, but I am not aware of any. There is a planned launch of 5 rockets tomorrow morning off the East Coast, but obviously that is not what you saw.
We do see rockets that have been launched and the pretty contrails in the sky. This was nothing like it.. The 2 stars looked very much alike and the same distance away. Though I know that that is deceiving. Then the “star” on the right side got very bright and again smaller till nothing was left. I am not arguing with you. Just trying to explain as best as I can what I saw.
hello, i don’t really know much about this stuff i just find it really fascinating, i was just wondering, you said that the particles of Betelgeuse will travel at a fraction of the speed of light, so if the light from the supernova were to reach us tomorrow (i know that means it happened 560 years ago i think) wouldn’t it be a very long time until the particles reach earth? so we’d see the supernova in the sky and expect some sort of effect from the particles whizzing through space, but really nothing would reach us apart from the light?
There are two things, radiation (which travels at the speed of light) and particles (which travel at less than the speed of light). The radiation, which includes visible light and even some X-rays and gamma rays, would reach us in the same number of years as Betegeuse’s distance in light years (430 or whatever it really is). The particles typically travel much slower. Ghost-like neutrinos travel at something near the speed of light, but most are much slower and are generally inconsequential. The outward expansion (consisting of material particles of the original star) of one studied supernova (Tycho’s star) shows the expansion of particles to be less than 5000 km/sec, which is roughly 1/60th the speed of light. At that speed, if Betelgeuse is 430 ly away, the particles would take 60 times that, or nearly 26,000 years to get here. OF course some may be faster, and in fact many may never reach us anyway, having been stopped or deflected by dust clouds or various objects in space.
However, the really important point is that Betelgeuse is so far away that any incoming flux of radiation or particles would be so thinned out by the time it gets here that we likely would not even notice it except for the bright (and temporary) mini-Sun where Betelgeuse used to me, and through readings of sensitive detectors. Imagine some huge enclosed domed stadium, like Houston’s Astrodome. Now imagine that someone in the middle of the playing field drops and breaks a small bottle of perfume. If you are up the the high seats somewhere, chances are you will never even smell it, or if it is incredibly potent perfume, you might eventually get the faintest whiff. Now, this is not an entirely valid analogy, but it helps get across the idea that any radiation or particles from Betelgeuse going supernova will be very diluted before it gets to Earth.
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