Posted on 08/14/2020 10:18:51 AM PDT by BenLurkin
In the fall of 2019, Betelgeuse began dimming significantly, losing about two-thirds of its brightness by February. This dramatic dip spurred speculation that the star's demise may have been imminent — perhaps just weeks away.
But the dramatic sky show didn't happen: Betelgeuse powered through the dimming episode and returned to its normal brightness by May of this year. The recovery sparked a new round of speculation, this time about the dimming's cause. Some scientists attributed the doldrums to a light-blocking dust cloud, for example, whereas others said big starspots on Betelgeuse's surface were likely to blame.
A new study bolsters the dust hypothesis, but adds a twist — Betelgeuse itself apparently coughed up the cloud.
The researchers studied the star in 2019 and 2020 using NASA's iconic Hubble Space Telescope. Hubble's observations from September through November 2019 revealed huge amounts of material moving from Betelgeuse's surface to its outer atmosphere at tremendous speeds — about 200,000 mph (320,000 km/h).
During this three-month-long outburst, Betelgeuse lost about twice as much material to space from its southern hemisphere as it normally does, study team members said.
This superhot plasma, or electrically charged gas, cooled considerably after traveling millions of miles from Betelgeuse, condensing into dust grains and forming a light-blocking cloud...
"This material was two to four times more luminous than the star's normal brightness," lead author Andrea Dupree, associate director of the Center for Astrophysics run by Harvard University and the Smithsonian Institution in Cambridge, Massachusetts, said in a statement.
"And then, about a month later, the south part of Betelgeuse dimmed conspicuously as the star grew fainter," Dupree said. "We think it is possible that a dark cloud resulted from the outflow that Hubble detected."
(Excerpt) Read more at space.com ...
Betelgeuse! Betelgeuse! Betelgeuse!..................
If Betelgeuse becomes a supernova, how big a show will we get here on earth? Anybody know?
Betelgeuse is huge. ......................
I bet this thread is going to generate some fun comments!
Should be visible during daylight................
Shhh ! Now it's gonna show up at your house.
1376, not 2019...
What makes you say that?....................
LAST TIME I SAW A MOUTH LIKE THAT IT HAD A HOOK IN IT!...................
2020 has sucked so far. The least the year could do to make up for it would be a spectacular Betelguese supernova that is clearly visible in daylight.
> They’re guessing, of course... <
They might have to guess, but not me. This is definitely a result of Global Warming. So we must increase our efforts to control every aspect of everyone’s life.
Dang speed limits.
Big. About as bright as the full moon for a few weeks.
“Bizarre dimming”, heh.
“Mom! That star is acting up! It’s making fun of me!!”
Yah. Betelgeuse is big enough that at its distance of 642 light years from us it shows up as a disc on the Hubble scope. If it were placed where our sun is its outer edge would be beyond the orbit of Jupiter (5 AUs = 465 million miles). When it goes into a supernova it’s going to be awesome. It’s far enough that the wave front won’t cause any harm to Earth when it does blow. We’ll see the light show hundreds of years before the particles get here. Fascinating stuff.
Like flaming globes!
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