What Would Happen If Betelgeuse Burst Right Now?

Betelgeuse, a red supergiant star known for its significant dimming events and the potential to explode in a supernova, located in the Orion constellation. This video covers the behavior of Betelgeuse, highlighting its size, luminosity, and the recent observations that have led to speculation about its imminent future.

[chrisredding]

If we see Betelgeuse go supernova now, it actually happened roughly 500 years ago. 🙂

[andrewgrady]

If it exploded right this I wouldnt live to see it because of the time it will take for the light to reach us.

[goldandsilveruk]

A star went supernova in the Pinwheel Galaxy visible in 2023, I'm lucky enough to have taken a picture (as did many others) of the Galaxy prior to and after the supernova. It only looked the a new star popped up but it was really cool to see with the knowledge of what it actually was.

[perigee]

Astronomers, the ones who know what they're talking about, are saying that it's too far away to hurt us.

[donlewis]

When you look at the constellation Orion, at Betelgeuse, you see it not as it is now, but as it was centuries ago. It takes light that long to get from Betelgeuse to here.

[danthesquirrel]

Your video title promised some wild speculation on what would happen to the Earth today if Betelgeuse went supernova... And it did not deliver! I should have known better when I didn't see an apocalyptic thumbnail image for the video.

[thecreatonaut]

I was taught that it's to far away to have any real effect on us. Although, it would be bright enough to light the night sky for two weeks. It would be lit up like dawn.

[bertferri-]

With my luck, I'll probably be having a nap and miss the whole thing.

[zekeedwards]

This gives you an idea about distances in space. Light can travel around the earth about 7 times a second, betelguise could of already exploded before Shakespeare was born, the light just hasn't reached us yet 😮🤯

[peterjannen]

Before working in astrophysics were you the voice of Huckleberry Hound? That would be so cool

[MrSmithwayne]

when you have black holes and neutron collisions eclipsing its host galaxy by folds of magnitude it truly puts into perspective our tiny little star in how easily life can be extinguished by such an explosion.

[berndmayer]

"now" in astronomy means mostly our lokal time when we know or see it.

[OBGynKenobi]

In the universe there's no such thing as now.

[mistereffyou]

It's so fascinating how we haven't even really left our own backyard yet we already know this much about the life and death of certain objects across the cosmos. It's truly impressive.

[rossdavies]

Interesting and informative. I would suggest one thing, though. When you cut to captioned illustrations, they are not on screen long enough to both read the caption and look at the picture. Either give a few seconds longer to each slide, or remove the caption and speak it, while the viewer looks at the picture. Other than that minor point, this was most enjoyable.

[MagnumMike]

It might have already gone supernova but since it's about 640 light years away, we wouldn't see its light image for (640 - x) years. x equals the distance in light years the supernova light image has already traveled in the vastness of space.

[kentkrueger]

There will be a bright light in the night sky. There will be a brilliant light show for anyone here to see. Over a period of months to a few years it will gradually fade from view. Beyond that, we are in no danger from Bettalguese.

[nimueh]

If Betelgeuse went supernova today, we wouldn’t see it until about 640 years from now.

[brucehemming]

Great video first time seeing your channel in my feed liked and sub’d…. When bettlejuice does go nova do we know if there are any planets in its orbit and will we be able to detect the impact on them??? Many thanks for sharing 🍻👍

[garybyoosey]

Shouldn't we be able to witness countless supernovas at all times due to the sheer volume of stars out there?