What is causing the giant star Betelgeuse to dim?

The team’s explanation for the dimming is that an unusually cool convective cell led to a drastic drop in temperature in the star’s atmosphere. This enabled gas that the star had spewed out in the previous year to condense quickly into dust, blocking out light from the star.

Is Betelgeuse fading?

Using Hubble Space Telescope observations gathered in the fall of 2019, before Betelgeuse began dimming, scientists concluded that the star spit out a huge wad of dense gas, Dupree said. Other astronomers think that ejection was a coincidence, and that a large cool spot on the star’s surface caused the strange fading.

How long would it take to see Betelgeuse supernova?

In late 2019, Betelgeuse, the star that forms the left shoulder of the constellation Orion, began to noticeably dim, prompting speculation of an imminent supernova. If it exploded, this cosmic neighbor a mere 700 light-years from Earth would be visible in the daytime for weeks.

How would Betelgeuse supernova affect Earth?

Although astronomers predict this massive star will end its life as a supernova soon — at least in cosmic terms — the effects of such an explosion won’t pose a problem for life on Earth. Betelgeuse is about 500 light-years away, not near enough to cause serious damage.

Why is Betelgeuse important to astronomers?

Betelgeuse emits almost 7,500 times as much energy as the Sun. The combination of size and temperature tells astronomers that the star is a kind of star called a red super giant. Red super giants are stars that are close to the end of their life.

When did Betelgeuse star dimming?

Astronomers say they’ve put to bed the mystery of why one of the most familiar stars in the night sky suddenly dimmed just over a year ago. Betelgeuse, a red supergiant in the constellation of Orion, abruptly darkened in late 2019, early 2020.

Is there going to be a supernova in 2022?

This is exciting space news and worth sharing with more sky watch enthusiasts. In 2022—only a few years from now—an odd type of exploding star called a red nova will appear in our skies in 2022. This will be the first naked eye nova in decades.

How long does Betelgeuse light take to reach us?

430 years
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What will Betelgeuse become when it dies?

The explosion disintegrates the outer layers of the star’s matter, which will be scattered into the darkness beyond, ready to give life to new stars. But we can’t know exactly what will happen next. Betelgeuse could become an ultra-dense neutron star, or it could collapse and become a black hole.

Is Betelgeuse a supergiant star?

​Betelgeuse is a red supergiant, belonging to a category of the largest stars in the universe. It is the tenth brightest star in the sky, and appears distinctly reddish. It was about 20 times the mass of the Sun when it began its life, and is much younger than the Sun, at less than 10 million years old.

What would happen if Betelgeuse exploded?

Whenever Betelgeuse does blow up, our planet Earth is too far away for this explosion to harm, much less destroy, life on Earth. Astrophysicists say we’d have to be within 50 light-years of a supernova for it to harm us. Betelgeuse is nearly 10 times this distance.