Death of a star?

My astronomy club has had probably a dozen lectures on the new James Webb Space Telescope (replacing Hubble) in the last few years at our annual NEAF expo. We have 3 NASA bigwigs coming in April 2020.

http://www.rocklandastronomy.com/neaf.html

 

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Nuttin' like a Pig and STAR

(faded above)


Iberia - Castulo AE14 Quarter Unit Bust - BOAR w-star 2nd C BCE

 

Beetlejuice is gonna explode???


Very fun write up! I had no idea but like everyone have always been amazed by the happenings of our universe. Thanks for sharing.

 

Betelgeuse's fading is the talk of my club's annual dinner in a few months. I'll post more information once we have the info up on the website.

 

Okay, okay, there are some advantages to living in the greater NYC area.

As far as supernova observations, though, I think the equipment I was reading about was one or two new neutrino observatories, due to come on line sometime this decade. Neutrinos are really hard to observe because they hardly interact with normal matter at all -- but that also means they're the first signal we get from a supernova, appearing hours before the first visible light bursts past the star's former surface. With new detectors, we'll be able to tell more about what kind of neutrinos they are, and maybe even tell what direction they're coming from.

Given the size of the burst we'd see from Betelgeuse, though, there won't be much question about where it's coming from. That'll give astronomers hours to train every other instrument on Betelgeuse, getting our first detailed observations of what a supernova looks like as it starts.

 

I sure hope Betelgeuse doesn't explode before March 14th. That's our dinner date and it would really cause some last-minute changes in our speaker's talk.

 

I just really hope it doesn't go off while we're on the wrong side of the Sun...

 

LOL, I just KNEW you would do a BeattleJuice meme! LOL just knew it!


Here is a REAL STAR in History! And a Makedon Star on reverse, also!

PHILIP II


Makedon Philip II Tet Pella LIFETIME 353-349 Zeus Horse star spearhd Le Rider 102

 

I'm a mod on an astronomy forum and Betelgeuse remains a hot-topic. So yeah, I hope it explodes and casts a shadow in the daytime. That would be the coolest thing since the star at the center of the Crab Nebula in Taurus exploded in 1054, an event noted by Persian and Chinese astronomers....but no one in Europe as they were to busy fighting amongst themselves until Pope Urban called for the Crusades.

 

True enough, and very cool. That gold solidus or denarius you are holding in your hand had its origin inside of an exploding star billions of years ago.

 

Naw, I am into Darics and Carthage Dekadrachm /Staters that I am hoding!

 

Is there any chance that all life around Betelgeuse will be destroyed by this impending explosion?
Is there any chance that there is any life around Betelgeuse to be destroyed by this impending explosion?

 

What life? I’m more concerned about life here on earth. Here is an interesting article wrote last spring, BEFORE Betelgeuse started fading :
https://www.forbes.com/sites/quora/...-when-betelgeuse-goes-supernova/#ed16ea3459e2

 

*What Life*

Thus, the second of my questions.

 

If there is life near Betelgeuse, it probably traveled there on purpose, or was put there on purpose, and could presumably leave the same way. Betelgeuse is probably only about 10 million years old, and has blown up to a huge size during the latter part of that time. There wouldn't have been much time for life to develop on planets around it, or to adapt as it swelled. Supergiant stars evolve super-fast.

If there is any "life as we know it" on planets around the star, there won't be after it blows. Supernovas can easily vaporize entire planets. Just the neutrinos from the explosion -- those things that hardly ever interact with matter -- will be numerous enough, and carry enough energy, to flash-cook any nearby living creatures. Even after passing through an entire planet.

So, if you want to get close-ups of the explosion, use a drone, not a selfie-stick.