Betelgeuse on the verge of exploding?

POSTED BY: AURaptor
UPDATED: Saturday, September 5, 2026 17:51
VIEWED: 8289
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AURAPTOR

Tuesday, February 11, 2020 11:38 PM

“ Supergiant star Betelgeuse has been getting dimmer at an unprecedented pace over the past few months, leading some astronomers to wonder if it might be in the process of the collapse that precedes a supernova explosion. But there are other possible explanations, and we should have a better idea of what's happening to the massive star by the end of the month.

Veteran Villanova University astronomer Edward Guinan has been watching Betelgeuse for decades and reported earlier this month that the star appears to be "the least luminous and coolest yet measured from our 25 years of photometry."

https://www.cnet.com/news/huge-red-star-might-explode-soon-and-next-fe
w-weeks-are-critical/

JEWELSTAITEFAN

Wednesday, February 12, 2020 6:49 AM

How many years ago did this happen? Meaning, how far away?

JONGSSTRAW

Wednesday, February 12, 2020 3:27 PM

It's relatively close to Earth, only 642.5 light years away. What astronomers are seeing today actually occurred back in 1378.

JEWELSTAITEFAN

Thursday, February 13, 2020 3:11 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Jongsstraw:
It's relatively close to Earth, only 642.5 light years away. What astronomers are seeing today actually occurred back in 1378.

I managed to find a source which said 700 years, I think. The 11th brightest star in our skies.

I was thinking that the numbers were just a variant - but we cannot be shifting our distances by 60 light years on a regular basis. Don't know the reason for discrepancy.

AURAPTOR

Thursday, February 13, 2020 4:14 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by JEWELSTAITEFAN:
How many years ago did this happen? Meaning, how far away?

I don't know the reason for the vast discrepancy in distance. As close as 427 Lty to 700 lty. That's quite a gap.

The massive dip in brightness is almost certainly a notable curiosity, and not any portend to an immediate ( from our perspective ) onset of any super nova. It is, however, a bit of info that future astronomers hopefully will be able to access when it finally does explode. Perhaps 100's or 1000's of years from now.

JEWELSTAITEFAN

Thursday, February 13, 2020 5:34 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by AURaptor:
Quote:
Originally posted by JEWELSTAITEFAN:
How many years ago did this happen? Meaning, how far away?
I don't know the reason for the vast discrepancy in distance. As close as 427 Lty to 700 lty. That's quite a gap.

The massive dip in brightness is almost certainly a notable curiosity, and not any portend to an immediate ( from our perspective ) onset of any super nova. It is, however, a bit of info that future astronomers hopefully will be able to access when it finally does explode. Perhaps 100's or 1000's of years from now.

That is a big discrepancy. At this moment, I don't even recall how we measure distance in astronomy. Maybe somebody's Slide Rule needs calibration.

AURAPTOR

Friday, February 14, 2020 4:20 AM

642.5 light years seems to be the most accepted number I'm seeing.

JONGSSTRAW

Friday, February 14, 2020 3:46 PM

"It's a rock, no indigenous species." To which Ripley responded ...

JEWELSTAITEFAN

Sunday, February 16, 2020 1:37 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Jongsstraw:
"It's a rock, no indigenous species." To which Ripley responded ...

I agree.

I'm wondering why the search engine results came up with 700, which is not even rounded from the 642 figure.
And 427 is even further out of range.

Do you know why there is such discrepancy?

JONGSSTRAW

Sunday, February 16, 2020 4:51 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by JEWELSTAITEFAN:
Quote:
Originally posted by Jongsstraw:
"It's a rock, no indigenous species." To which Ripley responded ...
I agree.

I'm wondering why the search engine results came up with 700, which is not even rounded from the 642 figure.
And 427 is even further out of range.

Do you know why there is such discrepancy?

I know that a star's distance from Earth never changes. A star's magnitude (brightness) can fluctuate slightly depending on certain conditions.

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