Something strange happened in last weeks. The giant star Betelgeuse starts dimming at a massive level. Infact the dimming is so much, that it even changed what the star symbol Orion looks like. Betelgeuse is a massive star and its at end of its life cycle. Scientists say it could go Super Nova any time
Likely your kids will live to see Betelgeuse supernova, maybe even you....it wont be much longer regardless. For all we know it already has and we wont see it for years.
Unless of course it release a massive gama ray burst directly at us, then we won't be enjoying the light show for long... A gama burst is one of many extinction level event that could happen.
It's funny...I noticed this thread because although I am not an astronomer I read the astronomy column in the local paper. He described Betelgeuse as the brightest star in Orion … I looked last night, was happy to find and recognize Orion and his belt (!) but and was confused because Betelgeuse seemed no brighter than the other stars in the constellation.....it's the upper left star, correct? Is it normal for this fading of a star to happen so quickly ?
That star is no a Gamma ray threat....not the right type. Now Eta Carinae might be a problem in 10,000 years or so, but even then the chances are quite slim. https://www.space.com/4814-risk-earth-supernova-explosions.html
I haven't seen any reddish tint but I don't have a telescope, maybe that would help (?). Is Rigel the lower right star?
Here's a bit of data to chew on: https://earthsky.org/space/betelgeuse-fainting-probably-not-about-to-explode
Yes, apparently, along with the author of the article you linked who also suggests that gas or dust could be a potential cause.
The last such visible supernova in the Milky Way was Kepler's Supernova, all the way back in 1604, which was obvious during the day for over three weeks.
Given the distance, couldn't it actually have already gone Super Nova, if that was happening? Not like we are going to see it live, just the aftermath. Its hundreds of light years away, depending on sources, either way, we won't know until long after it happens, yet we may well feel the effects of that before we learn the truth...
Sorry about the mix up! I was fooling around with some of the base software of the simulation and when I restarted that happened. No biggie, I'll call tech support.