Betelgeuse could go supernova within our lifetimes

Well, some of us.

https://earthsky.org/brightest-stars/betelgeuse-will-explode-someday/

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Matt85 · 36-40, M

That scares me... Like what if there are living beings on a nearby planet?

DunningKruger · 61-69, M

@Matt85 Anything within about 100 light years will be toast, yeah, eventually.

Tetsuya · 51-55, M

it's about 642 light years away, it may have already gone off
or
if it explodes today nobody will know for about 642 years

DunningKruger · 61-69, M

@Tetsuya Yes. The paper estimates we'll see a supernova in around 10 to 100 years.

caPnAhab · 26-30, M

That's crazy, isn't it? In the scale of the universe, that time is practically nothing, and we may be fortunate enough to see it

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DunningKruger · 61-69, M

@caPnAhab Yes. I suppose.

MsSwan

@DunningKruger Lol, you suppose..

DunningKruger · 61-69, M

@MsSwan Sometimes I think a mass extinction event would be a great benefit.

MyNameIsHurl · 41-45, F

Eek

DunningKruger · 61-69, M

@MyNameIsHurl Fortunately, Betelgeuse is some 600+ light years away, so no threat to us.

MyNameIsHurl · 41-45, F

@DunningKruger yeah but the ripple effect

DunningKruger · 61-69, M

@MyNameIsHurl The ripple effect?

Ferric67 · M

Cool pic

DDonde · 31-35, M

We would be very lucky to see it. IIRC We'd be able to see it during the daytime too cause it's so close to us.

NativePortlander1970 ·

Yet it's so far away that it could already have happened and we won't know for a long time.

DunningKruger · 61-69, M

@NativePortlander1970 Yes. The assessment in the paper was that Betelgeuse went supernova around 500 to 600 years ago, because the light being assessed here on Earth was emitted 400 to 500 years ago.

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