All that said, Betelgeuse isn’t expected to explode for another 100,000 years or so.
Total click bait title.
What happens when Betelgeuse explodes?
41–50 of 55 posts
Re: What happens when Betelgeuse explodes?
#42Earlier quoted context omitted.
Not from a supernova. Gamma-ray bursts are a wholly different phenomenon.
Not all supernovae have a GRB and not all GRBs have a supernova, but most long burst GRBs are thought to be from a supernova, no? I've been out of supernova research for a few years now, but that's what I recall.
Based on my degree in astrophysics from the University of Popular Science Blogs IIRC they're from quasars or something.
Re: What happens when Betelgeuse explodes?
#43Earlier quoted context omitted.
Not really. There are a huge number of stars, but most of them are moving away so fast that the light from their death wouldn't ever reach us, and their light would be shifted in to parts of the spectrum we can't see. Similar to Olbers' Paradox - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olbers%27_paradox
> most of them are moving away so fast that the light from their death wouldn't ever reach us Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe that's mistaken. Given enough time, even things moving away from us at the speed of light will eventually be seen by us. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ant_on_a_rubber_rope
Moreover, A good number are in the Milky way or the Andromeda galaxy, which is bound to collide with ours; plus the respective satellite galaxies of the Milky Way + Andromeda.
Will Univers' expansion make even them "disappear"?
Re: What happens when Betelgeuse explodes?
#44When I read that title, I assumed it had something to do with Douglas Adams.
Re: What happens when Betelgeuse explodes?
#45Earlier quoted context omitted.
Not all supernovae have a GRB and not all GRBs have a supernova, but most long burst GRBs are thought to be from a supernova, no? I've been out of supernova research for a few years now, but that's what I recall.
Based on my degree in astrophysics from the University of Popular Science Blogs IIRC they're from quasars or something.
So, I definitely didn't study GRBs in any depth, but based on my increasingly vague memories from my degree in astrophysics, quasars don't have much to do with it. All of the major proposed mechanisms I recall for GRBs are on the scale of a star or two (supernovae, neutron star mergers, and the like) whereas quasars are a phenomenon involving supermassive black holes in galactic nuclei. Please, definitely correct me if I'm wrong!
Re: What happens when Betelgeuse explodes?
#46Earlier quoted context omitted.
Also: "estimates of its mass are poorly constrained, but range from 5 to 30 times that of the Sun". Amazing for having on the order of 16 billion times its volume.
How does that happen? Is its fuel more energetic in some sense or does the gravity-vs-pressure equilibrium simply favor lower densities for a total mass of 20M☉?
You're right on both counts! Betelgeuse is burning helium now (post main-sequence). The higher output of helium fusion inflates the outer atmosphere like a giant floppy balloon.
Re: What happens when Betelgeuse explodes?
#47Earlier quoted context omitted.
Not from a supernova. Gamma-ray bursts are a wholly different phenomenon.
Not all supernovae have a GRB and not all GRBs have a supernova, but most long burst GRBs are thought to be from a supernova, no? I've been out of supernova research for a few years now, but that's what I recall.
You're correct. It's thought that long GRBs originate in certain kinds of supernovae. (What kinds of supernovae specifically isn't really known.) Short GRBs are thought to originate in mergers between neutron stars.
Re: What happens when Betelgeuse explodes?
#48The transition of the star to nebula will also permanently alter the appearance of the constellation Orion, which is both exciting and sad.
I like the maxim "this too shall pass." It's easy to think of on a generational level - our fathers' generation will disappear, and so will ours. But on the level of a civilization, it becomes both stranger and sadder. Orion is a shape in the sky that humanity has always been able to see (so long as we've lived in the northern hemisphere), and one day, assuming we still grace this planet in 100,000 years, it will no…
I agree with you.
I have found that the beauty of the temporary nature of everything (especially when considered in enormous time scales) highlights the beauty of the here and now.. and the need to enjoy it. In fact, while some say not to think of the future and stay in the present, sometimes I find that imagining far into the future is precisely what brings me back to the importance of and focus on the present.
Also, there's a feeling of pure awe I get when trying to imagine the unimaginable scale of the future (for us at least). It's a specific sensation.. I am not even sure awe is the right word to describe it.
Re: What happens when Betelgeuse explodes?
#49To get a feel for the tremendous size of that star: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Star-sizes.jpg
Holy cow - the star's circumference is about as big as Jupiter's orbit!
Re: What happens when Betelgeuse explodes?
#50When I read that title, I assumed it had something to do with Douglas Adams.
You are maybe thinking of the Great Collapsing Hrung Disaster that wiped out all the old Praxibetel communities on Betelgeuse Seven.