Betelgeuse could beon the verge of going nova

[Marc]

Betelgeuse! Betelgeuse! Betelgeuse!

Now you've done it. The gamma rays will kill us all!

It's not like I care. I'm Irish. We don't tan anyway.

but you'll go a nice green to sure

 

[scotpens]

I look forward to seeing how all the religions react to this. I wonder if they'll try to claim credit for the light show on behalf of their deity of choice or declare the end is neigh again.

I, for one, welcome our new horse overlords.

Now you've done it. The gamma rays will kill us all!

It's not like I care. I'm Irish. We don't tan anyway.

but you'll go a nice green to sure

Actually, Irish people spontaneously combust when they get too much sun exposure. All that alcohol in their blood acts as an accelerant.

 

[Reverend]

So what they're really saying is that Betelgeuse already HAS gone supernova several centuries back and the light and all that lovely gamma radiation is due to arrive in the next few years?

No, might have, or it could be in the next million years.

Ah, I missed that part. I really should stop skim reading. Still, that's a pretty big margin of error and if I remember it right, isn't there some question as to exactly how big and how far away the star is from Sol? So there's no way to predict the event until it's too late.

Either way, I suppose SETI can stop searching in that particular corner of the sky...

 

[Manticore]

So what they're really saying is that Betelgeuse already HAS gone supernova several centuries back and the light and all that lovely gamma radiation is due to arrive in the next few years?

No, might have, or it could be in the next million years.

Ah, I missed that part. I really should stop skim reading. Still, that's a pretty big margin of error and if I remember it right, isn't there some question as to exactly how big and how far away the star is from Sol? So there's no way to predict the event until it's too late.

In astronomical terms, that's pretty small, as margins of error go.

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

Poor Zaphod.

Don't forget about Ford.

And here's hoping there aren't any people living there that can't escape, but I would like to witness something like this.

 

[Zulu Romeo]

Poor Zaphod.

Don't forget about Ford.

Eh, Ford I'm not too worried about. He knows where his towel is.

 

[Ensign_Redshirt]

At its current distance from Earth, such a supernova explosion would be the brightest recorded, outshining the Moon in the night sky and becoming easily visible in broad daylight.[32] Professor J. Craig Wheeler of The University of Texas at Austin predicts the supernova will emit 1053 ergs of neutrinos, which will pass through the star's hydrogen envelope in around an hour, then reach the solar system several centuries later. Since its rotational axis is not pointed toward the Earth, Betelgeuse's supernova is unlikely to send a gamma ray burst in the direction of Earth large enough to damage ecosystems.[91] The flash of ultraviolet radiation from the explosion will likely be weaker than the ultraviolet output of the Sun. The supernova could brighten to an apparent magnitude of −12 over a two-week period, then remain at that intensity for 2 to 3 months before rapidly dimming. The year following the explosion, radioactive decay of cobalt to iron will dominate emission from the supernova remnant, and the resulting gamma rays will be blocked by the expanding envelope of hydrogen. If the neutron star remnant becomes a pulsar, then it could produce gamma rays for thousands of years.[92]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betelgeuse#Approaching_supernova

 

[Zulu Romeo]

I think the gravitational implications of the supernova will be fascinating, whether it means subtly greater or fewer tidal influences on other stars in the Galaxy, or merely a deviation of the path of a certain energy ribbon.

 

[FreezeC77]

So what they're really saying is that Betelgeuse already HAS gone supernova several centuries back and the light and all that lovely gamma radiation is due to arrive in the next few years?

No, might have, or it could be in the next million years.

Ah, I missed that part. I really should stop skim reading. Still, that's a pretty big margin of error and if I remember it right, isn't there some question as to exactly how big and how far away the star is from Sol? So there's no way to predict the event until it's too late.

Either way, I suppose SETI can stop searching in that particular corner of the sky...

Or should they? What would make the rest of the countries on the Earth get off their ass and put massive efforts into space colonization other than our sun heading towards going supernova? At the very least launching off crap tons of probes containing information on our society and perhaps biological samples if we ultimately failed to come up with a way to get actual humans out of system.

Of course the age of Betelgeuse probably makes the existence of advanced life in that solar system less likely since it's speculated to be around 10mil years old. Our sun conversely is thought to be over 4.5billion years old.

 

[Asbo Zaprudder]

As Betelgeuse is believed to have almost no rotation at all, taking 30 years or so to turn on its axis, perhaps the gamma-ray burst might not be directed along its polar axis at all. It might well be random or omnidirectional. Of course, we have no idea how fast its core is rotating. The photosphere probably span down as it expanded -- conservation of angular momentum. The rotational axis is believed to point 20 degrees away from earth's line of sight so we might be lucky.

 

[RedShirt]

I think the gravitational implications of the supernova will be fascinating, whether it means subtly greater or fewer tidal influences on other stars in the Galaxy, or merely a deviation of the path of a certain energy ribbon.

The nova's remnants would all still have roughly the same mass as the original star and therefore the same overall gravitational attraction so effects of the rest of the galaxy would be negligible. This is what makes that particular plot point of Generations such a wallbanger.

 

[Shatnertage]

Supernova? Oh crap. Get Zaphod some red matter.

 

[Mysterion]

This needs to become visible on 21 December 2012 just so I can watch all the "The Mayans were right!!" obsessives freak out. Good times.

 

[Reverend]

No, might have, or it could be in the next million years.

Ah, I missed that part. I really should stop skim reading. Still, that's a pretty big margin of error and if I remember it right, isn't there some question as to exactly how big and how far away the star is from Sol? So there's no way to predict the event until it's too late.

Either way, I suppose SETI can stop searching in that particular corner of the sky...

Or should they? What would make the rest of the countries on the Earth get off their ass and put massive efforts into space colonization other than our sun heading towards going supernova? At the very least launching off crap tons of probes containing information on our society and perhaps biological samples if we ultimately failed to come up with a way to get actual humans out of system.

Of course the age of Betelgeuse probably makes the existence of advanced life in that solar system less likely since it's speculated to be around 10mil years old. Our sun conversely is thought to be over 4.5billion years old.

I doubt the fact that our sun WILL go nova at some point in the next few billion years will have any effect on the space program whatsoever. Even if our descendants are around to see it, they won't be human.
Of course if we piss off the wrong aliens it might come early, but then we'll just relocate to the Vorlon homeworld.

Though I was only half serious about SETI, I suppose the point I was making is that if there is any intelligent life out that way, it probably won't be there much longer. I'd hate to think the first non-terrestrial signal we detect would be the alien equivalent of "WTF BOOM!"

 

[Jonas Grumby]

If it went supernova in our lifetime, it would mark the end of an era for amateur astronomers who grew up gazing at that red, inflamed shoulder of Orion's.

They should have named that star "Bursitis."

 

[Zulu Romeo]

If it went supernova in our lifetime, it would mark the end of an era for amateur astronomers who grew up gazing at that red, inflamed shoulder of Orion's.

They should have named that star "Bursitis."

It's inflamed because he's holding that club up in the air all the time. Let's not even mention that hot, swollen knee of his either.

 

[Chaos Descending]

This needs to become visible on 21 December 2012 just so I can watch all the "The Mayans were right!!" obsessives freak out. Good times.

The Mayans didn't think the world was going to end on 21 Dec 2012 any more than people who bought a 1992 calendar thought that the world would end when that calendar ran out of days on 31 Dec 1992.

 

[Aaron McGuire]

This needs to become visible on 21 December 2012 just so I can watch all the "The Mayans were right!!" obsessives freak out. Good times.

The Mayans didn't think the world was going to end on 21 Dec 2012 any more than people who bought a 1992 calendar thought that the world would end when that calendar ran out of days on 31 Dec 1992.

It's not about what the Mayans thought, it's about what idiots think the Mayans thought.

Aaron McGuire

 

[Chaos Descending]

I know, but it's to those idiots that I speak.

 

[STR]

I have a hard time believing all the light wouldn't have consequences. It would almost certainly kill several kinds of plant life. What about nocturnal creatures? Would we still have night time on the dark side of the planet, or would the light be so bright that it encompasses everything?

It's SIX HUNDRED light years away. In fact, it might have already blown up during the life of Columbus and we still wouldn't know. Given that energy dissipates by 1/4 when you double distance, there's just not going to be enough energy left to do much here other than look really cool for a couple of weeks.