Last countdown? During its last flasj the famous
Betelgeuse, a red giant star 500 to 600 lightyears distant, is currently shining at 150% of its baseline brightness, making it a potential contender for a dramatic deep space catastrophe. Scientists are discussing when it will explode and die.
A research paper on the red supergiant from Tohoku University in Japan suggested that the star may be nearing the end of its final life stage, the carbon-burning phase. The star is a more than 600-year-old red supergiant that makes up the left shoulder of the Orion constellation and is likely to become a supernova in the next 100,000 years.
Twice as quickly as usual, it is oscillating between brighter and darker at 200-day intervals while blazing at 150% of its average brightness, according to reports.According to Dr. Sara Webb, an astrophysicist at Swinburne University of Technology in Australia, “one of the coolest things about Betelgeuse is that we’re watching the final stages of big star evolution play out for us almost in real-time, which we’ve never really been able to study in this much depth before.”
In response to the outcome, László Molnár provided evidence indicating Betelgeuse is currently in the early stages of its helium-burning lifespan.Luminosity of BetelgeuseThe brightness of Betelgeuse changes over time, primarily following a 400-day cycle, according to the researchers.But beyond typical changes, a decrease in brightness was noticed.According to astronomers, the massive stuff that was ejected from the red supergiant and later solidified into dust is what is responsible for the object’s dimming.
