[tlb]

>>>Bet it goes supernova on Dec 12, 2012.....LOL.

More likely Betelgeuse will go nova first. Red supergiant star about 600 light years away that is already seen to apparently commence its collapse into itself.

Meaning it really is in the realm of possibility to see it in our lifetimes, and more dramatically in 2012.

[rightwingextremist1776]

^00 light years is a hell of a lot safer for us the 3.24 light years....should be a show ether way....let's hope it's not the last one.

[rightwingextremist1776]

600 light years is a hell of a lot safer for us then 3.24 light years....should be a show eather way....let’s hope it’s not the last one.

[commish]

More likely Betelgeuse will go nova first.

Luckily all we have to do is say its name 3 times and it will stop.

[zeugma]

Betelgeuse is a freaking huge star. I've played around with it in Celestia (one of the coolest programs on the planet - and absolutely free). If you are at the distance from Betelgeuse that Pluto is from our sun, the star is still the size of a good-sized orange held at arms length.

 

[MikeD]

True, but they are two different types. Betelgeuse will be a Type II supernova, where a red giant collapses, explodes, and becomes a neutron star or black hole. t Pyxidis will be a Type Ia, caused by material from a companion striking a white dwarf (dead star) and essentially re-activating it. Type Ia have very similar properties to one another, and are used as known sources to measure distances to galaxies. If T Pyxidis does go nova, it will offer a great test to the theory that Type Ia supernovae are all “alike.”