Visiting Betelgeuse - The Dying Star

Betelgeuse is one of the most luminous stars in the night sky. It is one of the closest supernova candidate, which is situated 700 light-years away from Earth.

This red giant star is younger than our sun, but the star has already reached the final stages of its life. It would take billions of years for our sun to reach this stage.

High mass stars such as Betelgeuse burn their fuel extremely quickly, as a result they exist for only a few million years, stars such as our sun exist for billions of years. Betelgeuse is easily visible in the night sky, as it is the tenth brightest star in the night sky and is more than 15 times the mass of the Sun.

when will Betelgeuse go supernova?
When Betelgeuse will die, it will create a stunning supernova that will be visible on Earth, even in broad daylight.

This is because when a massive star runs out of material in its core, the star will collapse under its own gravity and turn into a supernova. Researchers have estimated that this will likely happen to Betelgeuse within the next 100,000 years, which is relatively soon in astronomical terms. This explosion will create a burst capable of briefly outshining an entire galaxy.

This would be the first naked-eye supernova in our galaxy since 1,604. It will become the most-witnessed astronomical event in human history.

Characteristics of Betelgeuse
Betelgeuse is a red giant star with a low surface temperature. The low temperature means that the star will appear orangish red in color. The surface of Betelgeuse is relatively colder than the Sun since its core is no longer capable of sustaining hydrogen fusion. The temperature of its surface is just 6000 degrees Fahrenheit, for comparison our sun's surface temperature is 10000 degrees Fahrenheit.

The diameter of Betelgeuse is about 700 Million miles, which is about 1200 times the size of the Sun. It is is one of the largest known stars in the milky way.
Betelgeuse is so huge that if it was at the center of our solar system, its surface would lie beyond the asteroid belt and it would swallow Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars and probably Jupiter.

Betelgeuse is only 8 million years old, astronomers suspect that it would live for another 100,000 years after which its core would collapse into a super dense neutron star. This supernova explosion might appear as bright as the full moon as seen from Earth.

Credit: NASA/ESA

[aryan-ncqy]

I am feeling sad because i will not be there when it will blast, i will miss such a beautiful physics phenomenon. Is there is anyone else is sad from some other part of the earth who is sad as well.

[lightbulbbunny]

This sound insane .. it's already explot but it's light didn't reach the earth yet..

[szilagyidavid]

The supernova will be visible in 100, 700 years then

[aaravjoshi]

you do a good no wait grate job keep up it up you rock

[jwarmstrong]

Hubble shows large flares that block the light from Betelgeuse causing dimming - so no Dyson sphere or ancient advanced aliens

[kiminokao]

Why is it pronounced like beetle juice