Just brilliant
> Dupree compared the behavior to a “sneeze”
Just brilliant. Now even stars are sneezing in our direction without wearing a facemask.
The light from the red supergiant Betelgeuse dimmed to a record low earlier this year, leading stargazers to speculate it was about to explode as a supernova. But now it appears the aging sun merely had a stellar sneeze. Last autumn, Betelgeuse started going dark, losing two thirds of its brightness by February. Yet by May, …
From the pictures the star clearly lit it so it would be scientifically classified as a Stellar Flaming Fart.
For Dupree's information, US science shows typically refer to it as a burp. But that may be too risque for Haavaard.
I'm still hoping for a supernova in my lifetime. Make it happen boffins.
I'm still hoping for a supernova in my lifetime. .
You don't have to wait all that long.. there's one..
There's another, pause, and another.......
On average, a supernova will occur about once every 50 years in a galaxy the size of the Milky Way. Put another way, a star explodes every second or so somewhere in the universe.
Naked eye visible supernova is what I suspect you meant. Be careful of what you wish for.
I had one of those in college after eating Egg Foo Yung and drinking beer at a seriously dodgy Chinese restaurant. I thought I was going to get thrown out of the car on the way back to our rooming house, and no, I don't mean after the car was stopped. My roommate wouldn't speak to me for about a week.
Seriously, though....
This is interesting. We reckon that all elements heavier than Iron are the products of supernovae. Assuming that Bg is about to supernova, it is likely that the outgassing is more than just hydrogen/helium. If the content of the materiel could be tested, there might well be an oppertunity to calculate when it will go bang - by estimating the percentage of Iron and other elements in the outgas This might not be possible, but it would be interesting to find out. It spat out a massive amount of material (which will never fuse now that its left the caronasphere). If we know the ratios of material, we might also learn if this is common to pre-supernovae stars as we have an idea of the ratios of stardust elswhere....
This is possibly a big deal! Well done spotting it.
The iron only gets formed in the impreeive heat and pressure of the an explosion.
No, Iron is the end product of fusing progressively heavier elements until the star runs out of fuseable material.
With no more fuel to burn it goes kaboom and releases the Iron from the core to space.
Elements heavier than Iron come from a variety of stellar explosions, either collisions or death rattles.
"Betelgeuse is once again growing fainter before our eyes, and has been fading away since June."
I wouldn't know - I've not seen the night sky since May. Even on clear days it seems to cloud over at night. I've seen one Perseid - it literally fell out of Perseus's pocket like the old boy was dropping change on the floor. That's it.