This is a large, bright and massive star that is easy to spot in winter. Resides in the shoulder of the constellation Orion opposite Bellatrix. You will know where the star Betelgeuse is if you use our online star map.
Betelgeuse is considered a variable star and occasionally eclipses Rigel. The name comes from the Arabic translation for "Orion's hand". Modern Arabic "al-Jabbar" means "giant". The translators confused Y for B and the name "Betelgeuse" appeared just as a mistake. Then you will learn about the distance to the star Betelgeuse, its latitude, coordinates, class, declination, color and luminosity level with photos and diagrams.
Betelgeuse is in Orion's right shoulder (top left). If you put it in our system, it will go beyond the line of the asteroid belt and touch the orbital path of Jupiter.
Belongs to the spectral class M2Iab, where “lab” indicates that we are dealing with a supergiant with intermediate luminosity. The absolute value reaches -6.02. The mass fluctuates between 7.7-20 times that of the sun. The age is 10 million years, and the average luminosity is 120,000 times the solar index.
The apparent value varies from 0.2-1.2 over 400 days. Because of this, Procyon periodically bypasses and becomes 7th in terms of brightness. At the peak of luminosity, Rigel eclipses, and at the dim period it drops below Deneb and becomes the 20th.
The absolute value of Betelgeuse varies from -5.27 to -6.27. The outer layers expand and contract, causing the temperature to rise and fall. The ripple is due to the unstable atmospheric layer. Absorbs more energy when absorbed.
The collage depicts the constellation Orion (arrow points to Betelgeuse), the approach to Betelgeuse and the most accurate supergiant frame taken by ESO
There are several pulsation cycles with short-term differences of 150-300 days, and long-term ones cover 5.7 years. The star is rapidly losing mass, so it is closed by a huge shell of material, which makes observation difficult.
In 1985, two satellites noticed the stars in orbit, but then they could not be confirmed. Betelgeuse is easy to find because it is located in Orion. From September to March, it is visible from any point on Earth, except 82 ° S. For residents of the northern hemisphere, the star will rise in the east after sunset in January. In the summer it hides behind the Sun, so you cannot see it.
Supernova and the Betelgeuse star
Betelgeuse has come to the end of her evolutionary development and in the next million years it will explode as a type II supernova. This will result in a visual magnitude of -12 and last for a couple of weeks. The last supernova, SN 1987A, could be seen without instruments, although it happened in the Large Magellanic Cloud, 168,000 light years distant. Betelgeuse will not harm the system, but will give an unforgettable heavenly spectacle.
Although the star is young, she has practically spent the fuel supply. Now shrinks and increases internal heating. This led to the melting of helium into carbon and oxygen. As a result, an explosion will occur and a 20-kilometer neutron star will remain.
The final of the star always depends on the mass. The exact figure remains hazy, but many believe it is 10 times the Sun.
Facts about the star Betelgeuse
Let's look at interesting facts about the star Betelgeuse with photos and views of the stellar neighbors in the constellation Orion. If you want more details, then use our 3D-models, which allow you to independently move among the stars of the galaxy.
Included in two winter asterisms. Occupies the top corner of the Winter Triangle.
Winter Triangle Stars
The rest of the corners are reserved for Procyon and Sirius. Betelgeuse is also part of the Winter Hexagon along with Sirius, Procyon, Pollux, Capella, Aldebaran and Rigel.
In 2013, it was believed that Betelgeuse would crash into a "cosmic wall" of interstellar dust in 12,500 years.
Betelgeuse is part of the Orion OB1 Association, whose stars share the same movement and speed in space. It is believed that the red supergiant changed its motion because its path does not intersect with the regions of star formation. May be an escaping member that appeared about 10-12 million years ago in the Orion molecular cloud.
This is an image of the dramatic nebula around the bright red supergiant Betelgeuse. Formed from VISIR infrared camera images on the Very Large Telescope. The structure resembles a flame and emerges from a star because it throws its material into space. A tiny red circle in diameter extends 4.5 times from Earth's orbit and represents the visible area of \u200b\u200bBetelgeuse's surface. The black disk is mapped to the bright part of the frame and masked to show the nebula
The star moves through space with an acceleration of 30 km / s. As a result, a shock wave was formed with a length of 4 light years. The wind pushes huge volumes of gas at a speed of 17 km / s. They managed to display it in 1997, and the formation is about 30,000 years old.
Alpha Orion is the brightest near-infrared source in the sky. Only 13% of the energy is displayed in visible light... In 1836, John Herschel noted stellar changeability. In 1837, the star eclipsed Rigel and repeated it in 1839. It is because of this that in 1603 Johann Bayer mistakenly gave Betelgeuse the designation "alpha" (as the brightest).
It is believed that the star Betelgeuse began 10 million years ago as a hot blue O-type star. And the initial mass exceeded the solar mass by 18-19 times. Until the 20th century, the name was recorded as "Betelge" and "Betelgeuse".
Image from 2010 shows the nebulous complex of the Orion Molecular Cloud. Also visible are the red supergiant Betelgeuse (top left) and Orion's belt, which includes Alnitak, Alnilam and Mintaka. Rigel lives below, and the red crescent is Bernard's loop
Betelgeuse has established itself in different cultures under different names. In Sanskrit, it is written as "bahu", because the Hindus saw a deer or antelope in the constellation. In China, Shanxia is the "fourth star" as a reference to the Orion belt. In Japan - Haike-boshi as a tribute to the Haike clan, which took the star as a symbol of its kind.
In Brazil, the star was called Zhilkavai - a hero whose leg was torn apart by his wife. In northern Australia, she was nicknamed "Owl Eyes", and in southern Africa - a lion hunting three zebras.
Supergiant Betelgeuse, captured by the NACO instrument on the Very Large Telescope. When combined with the "lucky visualization" technique, it is possible to obtain the clearest image of the star, even with turbulence, which distorts the image by the atmosphere. Expansion is 37 milli-arc seconds. The frame was obtained based on data from the near infrared region and the use of various filters
Betelgeuse has also featured in various feature films and books. So the hero of "Beetlejuice" shares a name with the star. Betelgeuse became the home system for Zford Beeblebrox from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Kurt Vonnegut has a star in Sirens of Titan and Pierre Boulle in Planet of the Apes.
Betelgeuse star size
It is difficult to determine the parameters, but the diameter covers approximately 550-920 solar. The star is so huge that it shows a disk in telescopic observations.
An artistic interpretation of the supergiant Betelgeuse, information about which was obtained by the Very Large Telescope. The star is seen to have a large plume of gas. Moreover, it is so large that it covers the territory of our system. These detections are important because they help to understand how such monsters throw material on high speed... The scale in units of the radius and the comparison with the solar system were also left
The radius was measured using an infrared spatial interferometer, which showed a mark of 3.6 AU. In 2009, Charles Townes announced that the star has shrunk 15% since 1993, but has not lost brightness. Most likely, this is caused by the activity of the envelope in the expanded atmospheric layer. Scientists have found at least 6 shells around the star. In 2009, a gas release was recorded at a distance of 30 AU.
Alpha Orion became the second star after the Sun, where it was possible to calculate the angular size of the photosphere. This was done by A. Michelson and F. Peise in 1920. But the numbers were inaccurate due to attenuation and measurement errors.
The diameter is difficult to calculate due to the fact that we are dealing with a pulsating variable, which means that the indicator will always change. In addition, it is difficult to determine the stellar edge and photosphere, since the object is surrounded by a shell of ejected material.
Comparison of the sizes of Betelgeuse (a large dull red sphere on the orbital path of Jupiter) and R Dorado (red ball inside the earth's orbit). Also marked are the orbits of Mars, Venus, Mercury and the stars - Rigel and Aldebaran. The faint yellow sphere has a radius of 1 light minute. Yellow ellipses - planetary orbits
Betelgeuse was previously thought to have the largest angular diameter. But later they carried out the calculation in R Doradus and now Betelgeuse is in 3rd place. The radius extends to 5.5 AU, but can shrink to 4.5 AU.
Remoteness of the star Betelgeuse
Betelgeuse resides 643 light years away in the constellation Orion. In 1997, it was believed that the indicator was 430 light years, and in 2007 it was set at 520. But the exact figure remains a mystery, because direct measurement parallax shows 495 light years, and the addition of natural radio emission shows 640 light years. The 2008 VLA data suggested 643 light years.
Color index - (B-V) 1.85. That is, if you wanted to know what color Betelgeuse is, then we have a red star.
The photosphere has an expanded atmosphere. As a result, blue lines of emission appear, not absorption. Even ancient observers knew about red. So Ptolemy in the 2nd century gave a clear description of the color. But even 3 centuries before him, Chinese astronomers described yellow... This does not indicate an error, because earlier the star could have been a yellow supergiant.
Temperature of the star Betelgeuse
The surface of Betelgeuse warms up to 3140-4641 K. Atmospheric index - 3450 K. The gas cools down with expansion.
Physical characteristics and orbit of the star Betelgeuse
Betelgeuse - Alpha Orion.
Constellation: Orion.
Coordinates: 05h 55m 10.3053s (right ascension), + 07 ° 24 "25.426" (declination).
Spectral class: M2Iab.
Magnitude (visible spectrum): 0.42 (0.3-1.2).
Magnitude: (J-band): -2.99.
Absolute magnitude: -6.02.
Distance: 643 light years
Variable type: SR (semi-regular variable).
Mass: 7.7-20 solar
Radius: 950-1200 solar
Luminosity: 120,000 sol
Temperature mark: 3140-3641 K.
Rotational speed: 5 km / s.
Age: 7.3 million years.
Name: Betelgeuse, Alpha Orion, α Orion, 58 Oron, HR 2061, BD + 7 ° 1055, HD 39801, FK5 224, HIP 27989, SAO 113271, GC 7451, CCDM J05552 + 0724AP, AAVSO 0549 + 07.
The star "Betelgeuse" is a red supergiant of the immobile class. It is at the end life path... In the near future, the star will turn into a powerful supernova. Scientists suggest that it will take the place of the second moon in the earth's sky for a couple of weeks. This will happen because it is located near the Sun.
Constellation of the red giant Betelgeuse
Betelgeuse and Rigel are two supergiants in the constellation Orion. The first is a red supergiant, while Rigel is a blue supergiant.
Alpha Orion is a variable. Its brightness in the night sky ranges from 0.4 to 1.4 magnitudes. Therefore, Betelgeuse and Rigel seem to compete with each other in the brightness of the glow. At the same time, Alpha Orion is sometimes able to eclipse Rigel in luminosity.
The name of the red supergiant should have been different. But because of the error that occurred, the red giant got its real name.
Constellation orion
How did the name appear
The name of the red giant Orion came from arab countries... In Arabic, the name of the giant sounded like "Yad-al Jauza", that is, in translation - "the hand of a twin." In the Middle Ages, the Arabic hieroglyph that sounded like "y" was confused with the hieroglyph "b".
Therefore, the erroneous meaning in Arabic "Beteljuz" was taken as a basis. It translated as "home of the twins." In Arabic astronomy, the constellation Orion is called "Gemini".
Attention! Not to be confused with the real constellation Gemini.
In addition to the real name, the red giant has other names:
- Towers (in Persian "hand");
- Claria (Coptic for "bandage");
- Ad-Dira (from the Arabic "hand");
- Ardra (Hindi language).
How to see in the night sky
Betelgeuse can be seen in the night sky of the Earth's Northern Hemisphere.
The red supergiant is in the constellation Orion, which means that it occupies central position in the sky in winter. It can be seen even in the city sky in February.
This constellation is called the winter constellation, because only in cold period year, it occupies a position on the southern side of the sky. Astronomers call it the climax. Any luminary that is located on the southern side of the sky is convenient for an amateur astronomer to observe.
She appears in January in the east immediately after Sontse sits down. And on March 10, a person will be able to see her in the south in the evening. At this time of the year, Betelgeuse is visible in all regions of the Earth.
Important! In Sydney, Cape Town, Bueno Aires, the red supergiant rises 49 degrees in the sky.
Now about where the star is.
If you look directly at Orion's belt, then Betelgeuse is to the left and above the other three, which lie in one straight line. Star light gives off reddish. The red giant is the hunter's left shoulder, while Bellatrix is \u200b\u200bthe right.
Main characteristics
In terms of brightness, the red supergiant ranks 9th in the night sky. Its brightness from 0.2 to 1.9 magnitude varies within 2070 days. Belongs to the spectral class m1-2 la lab.
Star size
The radius of the star is 600 times the diameter of the Sun. She is 1400 times bigger than him. And the mass is equal to 20 solar masses. And the volume is 300 million times the volume of the luminary of the Earth.
The star's atmosphere is rarefied, and its density is much lower than the Sun. Its angular diameter is 0.050 arc seconds. It changes depending on the luminosity of the giant.
The radius was measured by astronomers using a spatial IR interferometer. The rotation period of the star was calculated, which is 18 years.
Important! In 1920, Betheljuz became the first, after the Sun, whose angular diameter was measured by astronomers.
Comparison of the size of Betelgeuse with other space objects
Temperature
The temperature of the red supergiant is 3000 degrees Kelvin (2726.8 Celsius). The red supergiant is much colder than the sun. Since the temperature of the star Solar system is 5547 degrees Kelvin (5273.9 degrees Celsius). It is the low temperature that gives the star its reddish tint.
Remoteness
The red supergiant is 643 light-years from the solar system. It's far enough.
During the explosion and the formation of a star into a supernova, which astronomers predict for this red supergiant, the waves that have reached the Earth will in no way disturb the vital activity of all organisms on the planet.
The main characteristics can be found in the table:
| Betelgeuse | Alpha Orion |
| Constellation | Orion |
| Coordinates | 05h 55m 10.3053s (right ascension), + 07 ° 24 ′ 25.426 ″ (declination). |
| Magnitude (visible spectrum) | 0.42 (0.3-1.2) |
| Magnitude: (J-band) | -2.99 |
| Spectral class | M2Iab |
| Absolute value | -6.02 |
| Remoteness | 643 light years |
| Variable type | SR (semi-regular variable) |
| Massiveness | 7.7-20 solar |
| Radius | 950-1200 solar |
| Luminosity | 120,000 solar |
| Temperature mark | 3140-3641 K |
| Rotational speed | 5 km / s |
| Age | 7.3 million years |
| Name | Betelgeuse, Alpha Orion, α Orion, 58 Oron, HR 2061, BD + 7 ° 1055, HD 39801, FK5 224, HIP 27989, SAO 113271, GC 7451, CCDM J05552 + 0724AP, AAVSO 0549 + 07 |
Red giant facts
Betelgeuse's radius is not constant. It changes shape from time to time and has an asymmetrical shell with a slight bulge. This says two things:
- The star loses its own mass every year due to jets of gas escaping from the surface.
- There is a companion inside her who makes her act eccentric.
Scientists observing the star have found that since 1993, its size has decreased by 15%, but the brightness has remained the same.
About 5 shells were found around the giant. And already in the ninth year of the twenty-first, another emission of 30 astronomical units was discovered.
Astronomers in 2012 predicted that the giant could enter interstellar dust in twelve thousand years. And also a year before that, one of the scientists included her in the menu of disasters that she can provoke in 2012.
Attention! Until now, scientists cannot determine the systematic change in the diameter of a star, since it is pulsating.
Scientists admit the following reasons for the decrease in size:
- change in the brightness of many areas on the surface of the supergiant. This can cause a decrease on one side and an increase on the other side of the star's brightness. On Earth, this can be mistaken for a change in diameter;
- suggest that large stars are not spherical, so Betelgeuse has a bulge;
- the third assumption is that astronomers are not seeing the star's real diameter. In fact, it could be a layer of dense gas. And his movements create the appearance of a change in the size of Alpha Orion.
Attention! Alpha Orion is enveloped in a gas nebula that astronomers have long been unable to notice due to the bright light emitted by Betelgeuse.
Another interesting fact is the entry of Betelgeuse into the winter triangle, which is made up of Procyon, Sirius and this supergiant.
Winter triangle
In the culture of the peoples of the world
The star Betelgeuse was called differently in different nations the world. Each nationality has its own beliefs and constituent myths of distant ancestors about the emergence of a star.
For example, in Brazil, she is called Zhilkavai after the hero whose leg was torn apart by his wife.
In Australia, she was given a two-word name, "owl eyes." In the eyes of the Australians, the two stars on the shoulders of Orion reminded them of the eyes of these nocturnal birds.
IN South Africa it is called the lion that hunts three zebras.
In works and films
The red supergiant is mentioned in the works, poems and films of Russian and foreign authors. For example, in the well-known film "Planet of the Apes" the planet Sorora revolves around this star. It was from her that primates with intelligence flew to Earth.
One of the heroes of the acclaimed film "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" was born and lives on the planet, whose sun is Betheljuz.
The Danish writer Nils Nielsen also mentioned this star in his works. His novel Planet For Sale describes how the planet hunters stole a small satellite from Alpha Orion and brought it to Earth.
Back in 1956, Varlam Shalamov mentioned the star in his "Atomic Poem".
Viktor Nekrasov, who wrote the work "In the trenches of Stalingrad", also writes about this star. This is how the lines sound: “Two steps away from us, a train with fuel, in the daytime it can be clearly seen from here. All the time, kerosene oozes in thin streams from bullet holes in the tank. Soldiers run there at night to fill the lamps. According to the old habit, since childhood, I am looking for familiar constellations in the sky. Orion - four bright stars and a belt of three smaller ones. And one more ― is very small, almost invisible. One of them is called Betelgeuse, I don't remember which one. Aldebaran must be somewhere, but I've already forgotten where he is. Someone puts a hand on my shoulder. I shudder. "
The star is also mentioned in the famous novel by Kurt Vonnegut "Sirens of the Titan". The hero of the work exists in the form of a wave that pulsates in a spiral around the Sun and Betelgeuse.
Roger Zelazny has a novel called The Light of the Sullen. The action of this work is played out on one of the planets of the red giant at the moment before the supernova explosion.
Betelgeuse is mentioned in Arseny Tarkovsky's poem "Star Catalog", written in 1998.
The Beetlejuice star is mentioned in the movie Blade Runner. When the hero Roy Batty dies, he calls her the shoulder of Orion: “I saw something that you people just won't believe. Burning warships on the outskirts of Orion's shoulder. I saw C-rays ... flickering in the darkness near the Tannhäuser gate. And all these moments will disappear in time like tears in the rain. It's time to die. "
One of the writers bears the first and last name See Betelgeuse. He has a poem dedicated to Alpha Orion.
Ukrainian rock group Tabula Rasa dedicated a song to the red giant - "Rendezvous at Betelgeuse".
Comparison with the Sun
Compared to the Sun, Betelgeuse is many times larger.
If placed in the solar system, it will take the distance to Jupiter. As its diameter decreases, it will border on the orbit of Mars.
The brightness of Betelgeuse is 100,000 times greater than that of the Earth. And the age is 10 billion years. While the Sun is only about 5 billion.
Scientists are increasingly thinking about Betelgeuse's behavior. Because the red giant behaves just like the sun. It has localized points where the temperature is higher than the other surface and places where the temperature is lower.
Despite the fact that the shape of the Sun is spherical, and that of the red supergiant is in the form of a potato. This is puzzling in academia.
Sun and Betelgeuse
Betelgeuse explosion
The red giant is in the final stages of burning carbon. Knowing about what processes occur inside the star, scientists can tell the future of Betelgeuse. For example, with a rapid explosion, iron, nickel, gold are formed inside it. A slow explosion produces gases such as carbon, oxygen, barium.
Scientists believe the red supergiant is about to go supernova. For a few thousand years, and maybe even earlier, this star will explode, unleashing the dumped energy on nearby space objects. As much energy will be released from it as from the Sun it releases in its entire life.
Betelgeuse explosion
The solar system, inside which the Earth is located, is located far from the Red Giant. Therefore, it is assumed that the explosion will not create problems. However, its glow will be noticeable on Earth as well. This explosion can be observed by people with the naked eye.
Flash still long time will remain in the sky as an additional moon at night. After several centuries, a black fool or a neutrino star is formed from the exploded red giant. A new nebula will appear around it.
According to another hypothesis, astronomers assume that the explosion will still harm the Earth and its inhabitants.
First of all, such an amount of energy released from Betelgeuse can disrupt the operation of satellites, mobile communications and the Internet on the planet. The aurora will become even brighter.
Moreover, the explosion can lead to adverse effects on nature, which will lead to the extinction of some animal species and a slight cooling. But these are all assumptions.
According to other sources, Betelgeuse will shed its shell and become a white dwarf. This hypothesis is more plausible.
Betljuice is already losing its composition in huge quantities, gradually forming clouds of gas and dust around itself.
At the same time, the bulge in the star raises concern. It is believed that this is another object, and not a stream that carries away particles of Alpha Orion into space. If this hypothesis is confirmed, then a collision of Betelgeuse with this object should be expected.
This bulge, which scientists still call a gas plume, thrown off the mantle, forms a strong flow of the interstellar medium.
If an explosion occurs, then for the first time people will be spectators of the incredible supernova explosion show. Because such explosions of stars in the Galaxy Milky way occur once every several thousand years.
There is another hypothesis that Betelgeuse has already exploded.
And its explosion will be seen only in five hundred years by descendants modern people... Since it is too far from the Solar System. Its real light will only reach Earth in a few hundred years. According to the law of energy propagation in the vacuum, the farther the source, the later people will see its light.
One of the stars in the night sky is the brightest Betelgeuse. It is located in the constellation Orion. It can be seen in the night sky even without special devices. The size of the star is amazing. In terms of its mass, it exceeds the mass of the Sun by 20 times, and in diameter - more than 1000 times. The distance to Betelgeuse is estimated at just over 600 light years (the distance covered by light in a year at a speed of 300,000 km / h is 1 light year).
Betelgeuse (translated from Arabic - "twin armpit") is a supermassive red giant. If you take it and put it in the place of the Sun, then it would reach the orbit of Jupiter, while covering all the planets that are inside. Our Sun will emit light 50 thousand times less when compared with Betelgeuse. By galactic standards, this star is still young - about 10 million years old. Stars belonging to red supergiants live very little. Considering the enormous pressure inside the star created by its colossal mass, it burns its fuel very quickly, which directly affects the lifespan of the star itself.
Star life
The birth of a star is no different from the birth of other stars. In the vastness of the galaxy, a spherical molecular cloud, a protostar, is being formed. Then thermonuclear fusion was launched under the enormous pressure of the star's mass. This process leads to the heating of the core. At this stage, hydrogen begins, turns into helium, while tremendous energy is released into space. Thanks to this energy, the star does not shrink.
Over time, the hydrogen ends, which, accordingly, entails a loss of energy and the star nevertheless begins to shrink. The nucleus begins to contract with even greater force until the moment when helium begins to change into another state - to turn into carbon. Then a helium flash occurs. At this moment, the star begins to release an enormous amount of energy. From an ordinary star, it turns into a red giant. Betelgeuse is at this stage of life.
New elements appear (neon, oxygen, etc.) before the formation of iron. Over time, the fuel runs out and the core starts to shrink again. Inside the star, the iron core is compressed, which subsequently becomes neutron. Then a huge explosion occurs. This explosion is a type 2 supernova formation. Instead of a nucleus, black hole or a neutron star.
Is there a danger to the Earth?
There is no unequivocal answer to the question when Betelgeuse will explode. Some scientists believe that it will happen very soon (in the next 2 thousand years), but there are those who believe that it will happen much later. For our planet, this explosion does not carry any danger. However, if an explosion occurs in our time, then you can observe an amazingly beautiful picture in the sky. The brightness of Betelgeuse will be comparable to the Moon, both day and night. However, after a few years, visibility will diminish and then gradually disappear completely. And in its place it is formed.
Who among you would not dream of witnessing the epochal departure from the earthly horizon of one of the most noticeable stars?
According to some sources, the right shoulder of a celestial hunter can, at any moment, emit its last breath in the form of a prolonged and bright supernova, leaving behind an empty place invisible to the naked eye.
This will completely change the look, so beautifully animating the winter skies of our latitudes. Should this event be expected in our lifetime, and does it pose a threat to our planet?
According to a number of news feeds, a massive supernova could ignite at any second. Betelgeuse will increase its brightness thousands of times and will illuminate the sky for several months until it gradually fades out and leaves behind a growing one with an invisible neutron star or black hole in its center. Such a cosmic catastrophe does not threaten us with anything serious, unless one of the poles of the exploding star is directed towards the Earth. The flux of gamma rays and charged particles will create some problems with the magnetic environment and the ozone layer of the planet's atmosphere. Is there any reason to trust such information, or is it just another horror story from the media?
Explosion probability
Scientists do not deny the likelihood of such an outcome. However, it is not known for certain whether the star will explode tomorrow, or in a million years, it is also not known whether it will explode at all. Despite the power of modern astronomy, the knowledge of stellar life seems to be reliving its infancy. The paradox of the existence of giants, the problems of modeling star formation in close systems call into question the established scientific paradigms about the life of stars. The discovery of objects that do not fit into the framework of existing theories rather creates more questions than answers. An example of this is even the well-known Betelgeuse, about which, it would seem, we should know everything.
Unknown Betelgeuse
What do we know about Betelgeuse? An amateur astronomer, pointing his finger at the reddish light, will tell about its colossal size, variability and other publicly available facts. And, in order to excite the listener's imagination, he will add that if you put it in the place of the Sun, then all the planets would be in the bowels of the supergiant terrestrial group, and possibly even. In this he will be right, but no matter how strange it may be, a professional astronomer will operate with hardly the same set of knowledge about the red giant. For example, the exact size, mass and distance to Betelgeuse have not yet been established.
The distance to the star is estimated in such rough limits as 420-650; some sources give even terrifying boundaries from 180 to 1300 light years. Estimates of the values \u200b\u200bof mass and radius also do not differ in accuracy and vary within 13-17 solar masses and 950-1200 solar radii, respectively. Such large discrepancies are explained by the fact that, due to its remoteness, the distance to Betelgeuse cannot be measured by the annual parallax method. In addition, Betelgeuse is neither a double star nor a member of any tight cluster. This feature does not allow us to correctly estimate the mass and other characteristics of the star, including the absolute luminosity.
Even the fact that Betelgeuse became the first star (of course, after the Sun), in which it was possible to measure the angular size and obtain a detailed image of its disk, in fact, does not give us any significant data regarding its parameters and nature.
The situation is similar with the entire "stellar" branch of astronomy. Scientists not only have to develop new models describing the mechanisms of formation, evolution and death of stars, but also radically reshape old ones. For example, how to explain the existence of recently discovered stars with a mass of 200-250 solar masses, if the upper theoretical limit until recently was estimated at 150 solar masses? How to explain the nature of gamma-ray bursts? Other discoveries are not far off, which will further baffle astronomers.
Is there an explosion?
Returning to Betelgeuse, we can make a kind of verdict to those sources that declare the inevitable appearance of the brightest "farewell fireworks" in our sky. Astronomers make it clear that such an event, although it has a very real probability of occurring before our eyes, but this probability is extremely small, and it is not possible to estimate it. Naturally, the media, trying to revive the public, rework these cautious statements in their own way.
Supernova explosions are referred to as those cosmic events that are observed de facto. There has never been a case in science that a supernova explosion was registered, which was predicted and expected in advance. For this reason, astronomers can only indirectly judge the processes preceding the explosion.
With regards to Betelgeuse, scientists confidently state that the star is in its final stage of life, when the current percentage of carbon and subsequent heavy elements can no longer support stable thermonuclear processes. According to existing models, this will most likely lead to the termination of the hydrodynamic equilibrium of the star, in other words, to a supernova explosion. There is also the possibility that Betelgeuse will end its life not so brightly, but simply gradually shed its shell, turning into an oxygen-neon white dwarf.
In any case, modern science is incapable of assigning the exact date explosion or reject the very fact that it will. The resulting excitement in the media about the appearance of the "second Sun" erupted after disputes arose in the world astronomical community about the rapid decrease in the average brightness and size of Betelgeuse. Many astronomers have confidently stated that such a phenomenon is explained by an imminent supernova explosion, which, according to cosmic standards, is about to occur - within the next two millennia. Others are more restrained in their forecasts, and explain the extinction of the star by some temporary or periodic processes. This unannounced astronomical dispute shows how much new and unknown scientists have to learn.
A galactic dream
Undoubtedly, a bright light in the sky would inspire people to forgotten thoughts about how insignificant they are in the Universe. One has only to think for a moment that this very explosion can be observed by possible inhabitants of other distant systems of our vast galaxy. Such a stellar message will bring real invaluable benefits to astronomers. Come such a close and expected supernova explosion in our century, curious gazes of all types of telescopes and other equipment will be directed towards it. In convulsive delight, scientists will clog their databases with tons of valuable information coming from the blast light. Information about the next sensational discovery will be distributed from all over the world every day. But these are only vague dreams.
Reality dictates its own rules. The explosion of Betelgeuse is not only worth fearing or even expecting to see, in fact, one can only dream of it. Especially the brighter light, if it lit up before our eyes, would hardly be compared in brightness with full moon and would not do us any significant harm. In the meantime, we have the opportunity to continue to observe the red star of Orion and hope that astronomers will replenish their knowledge without such rare and amazing events.
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List of the brightest stars
| № | Name | Distance, St. years old | Apparent magnitude | Absolute value | Spectral class | Heavenly hemisphere |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 0,0000158 | −26,72 | 4,8 | G2V | ||
| 1 | 8,6 | −1,46 | 1,4 | A1Vm | Southern | |
| 2 | 310 | −0,72 | −5,53 | A9II | Southern | |
| 3 | 4,3 | −0,27 | 4,06 | G2V + K1V | Southern | |
| 4 | 34 | −0,04 | −0,3 | K1.5IIIp | North | |
| 5 | 25 | 0.03 (variable) | 0,6 | A0Va | North | |
| 6 | 41 | 0,08 | −0,5 | G6III + G2III | North | |
| 7 | ~870 | 0.12 (variable) | −7 | B8Iae | Southern | |
| 8 | 11,4 | 0,38 | 2,6 | F5IV-V | North | |
| 9 | 69 | 0,46 | −1,3 | B3Vnp | Southern | |
| 10 | ~530 | 0.50 (variable) | −5,14 | M2Iab | North | |
| 11 | ~400 | 0.61 (variable) | −4,4 | B1III | Southern | |
| 12 |