Betelgeuse
Alpha Orionis
by Laurine Forget
From almost anywhere such as the countryside or the city, one can gaze at the majestic figure of Alpha Orionis (Atmosphere of Betelgeuse). The great red supergiant, Betelgeuse, is to be found pulsating high in the left shoulder. This particular star recently got a lot of attention for being the very first star to have its atmosphere directly imaged.
Betelgeuse was first discovered in 1836 by Sir John Herschel. In 1852 this great red supergiant was thought to be ,,actually the largest and brightest star in the northern hemisphere‘‘, and, correctly so, when at maximum, Betelgeuse sometimes reaches a magnitude of 0.4. Observers of the AAVSO indicate that Betelgeuse possibly could have reached a magnitude of 0.2 in 1933 and once more in 1942. Although, the star’s magnitude was at its lowest in 1927 and 1941, where it dropped below 1.2. Distanced by roughly 425 light-years, it is the seventh brightest star in the northern hemisphere with a luminosity of around 14,000 Suns at its peak and 7,600 Suns at its lowest, which is still very bright nonetheless.
An unpublished study is claiming that Betelgeuse might die in a mindblowing explosion within our lifetime, causing big waves on the internet. When the star burns through its last drops of fuel left, its core will collapse onto itself, create a black hole and in the process, blast out the star’s outer layers at enormous speeds of up to 40,000km/s. This fiery demise is what astronomers call a supernova explosion, and in the case of Betelgeuse, it will be a spectacular sight for observers on earth. Those layers of gas and dust will shine just as bright as the full moon in our sky for several weeks.
It is said that Betelgeuse will go supernova sometime in our lifetime, but the exact date and time are very difficult to pinpoint.
Source https://www.aavso.org