New evidence suggests that the red supergiant is indeed preparing a galactic-scale cataclysm.
It goes out, then goes out
Astronomers at the European Southern Observatory in Chile (European Southern Observatory) have recorded and published unprecedented changes in the behavior of the star Betelgeuse, such as have not been observed for the entire time of observations of it. The star has become very dim. Sveta gives less than 40 percent of its former "power". This is noticeable even with the naked eye. The star, which was one of the brightest in the sky, is now barely smoldering. And at the same time it contracts, then swells. Pulses. Or shaking in convulsions, figuratively speaking.
The images of Betelgeuse, which continues to fade, were taken with the Very Large Telescope (VLT), equipped with a unique infrared instrument - the Spectro-Polarimetric High-contrast Exoplanet REsearch instrument - SPHERE.
Two years earlier, astronomers from an international team led by Eamon O'Gorman of the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies used the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) radio telescope in Chile, using 66 12-meter and 7 -meter dish antennas. They saw with their help that the outer shell of Betelgeuse was heated unevenly. Which indicated the distortion of the star's magnetic field.
Changes in luminosity, size and other anomalies, according to many scientists, only indicate that Betelgeuse is about to go supernova. That is, it will explode. This actually explains the increased interest in it, which has not subsided for several years.
Promotional video:
Betelgeuse in the sky.
The astronomers of the LIGO collaboration intensified the fears, who at the end of January 2020 announced that they had caught the gravitational waves that came from the direction of Betelgeuse. This could mean that the star had already exploded and shook the fabric of space-time. But we have not yet seen the cyclopean event itself, because the light from it has not yet reached the Earth. Some astrophysicists do not rule out such a miracle - that is, the fact that gravitational waves travel faster than light. Perhaps as much as 1.4 times. That is, the cataclysm will appear to us in due time. If it really has already happened. And in LIGO something is not messed up.
Betelgeuse is changing very quickly: unprecedentedly fast, as astronomers claim.
Explosion is inevitable
Most astronomers still believe that the explosion is yet to come. When? The exact answer can be expected after astronomers study the surface of Betelgeuse in more detail. In the meantime, they are frightening, that the cataclysm will happen either tomorrow, or in 100 thousand years. But it will definitely happen. This is the fate of the red supergiants that have used up their thermonuclear fuel.
The star Betelgeuse is a red supergiant. Until recently, it was very clearly visible in the sky just above and to the left of a curved line of three stars - the so-called Orion belt. She was one of the 11 brightest stars in the sky. Now it occupies 24th place.
Betelgeuse lies between 495 and 650 light years from the Sun.
It is huge - 1400 times larger than our star. If you place Betelgeuse in the center of the solar system, then the edge of the star will be swallowed up by Jupiter.
An explosion flash will illuminate almost half of the galaxy, the ejected matter will be carried away into outer space at a tremendous speed, bombarding planets along the way, destroying life on them with a blast wave and radiation.
What will happen to the homeland and to us?
Earthlings are likely to survive the cataclysm simply due to the fact that it is still very far from Earth to Betelgeuse. A supernova explosion that occurs within a radius of 30 light years is considered fatal.
What exactly will reach us is neutrinos. These particles freely penetrate through matter. And they will penetrate through us without causing harm. But if you believe the hypotheses of nontraditional physicists, then powerful neutrino fluxes are capable of accelerating nuclear and thermonuclear reactions. And this allegedly can harm nuclear power plants, stocks of nuclear weapons and our Sun itself, which will also explode, falling under the radiation of the exploded Betelgeuse. Then the end of the world is inevitable.
Another horror story is hard X-rays. Allegedly, it can hit the Earth, greatly harming the animal and plant world, if the Betelgeuse axis turns out to be directed at us.
Canadian scientists Dale Russell and Thacker Wallace even have a hypothesis that our dinosaurs became extinct from X-ray radiation. And it was generated by a supernova explosion that happened 65 million years ago somewhere not very far from the solar system. Scientists, however, do not say exactly where.
By the way, in 2011, Brad Carter, a physicist from the Australian University of Southern Queensland in Australia, predicted the explosion of Betelgeuse in 2012 - frightened by the end of the world, allegedly by the predetermined Mayan calendar. Wrong. Together with the Indians.
How large is the sky show expected? There is no complete clarity. Some assure: it will seem as if the "second Sun" has flared up - the supernova's fireball will be so bright and huge. He will hold out in the firmament for about two weeks. And even longer. It will shine even at night, which will turn into day.
Scientists - from among the cautious - say that a supernova is unlikely to be similar in brightness to the Sun. Rather, it can be compared to our Moon.
At the same time, some believe that the supernova will still be visible in the sky in the form of a shining disk, others believe that a very bright star will simply appear, clearly visible even during the day. It will begin to fade gradually until a nebula appears in its place.
Betelgeuse is huge: a star compared to the solar system.
EVENTUALLY
And the sun will puff up someday
Over time, our Sun will repeat the fate of Betelgeuse. It will also turn into a red supergiant. It will increase in size by at least 100 times. Swallow up Mercury and Venus. The Earth may remain - the Sun will push it into a more distant orbit. It is possible that life will remain on our planet. There seem to be examples of such amazing salvation in the Universe. But unprecedented troubles, if they begin, will not be earlier than in 5 billion years.
VLADIMIR LAGOVSKY