The Betelgeuse Supernova

This is a submission for Kevin’s No Theme Thursday

Image by Kevin from The Beginning at Last

Supernova

A supernova is an explosion of a star so violent that it can outshine an entire galaxy. It can occur when a super massive star’s core contracts (the death of the star) and as it reaches a critical point it triggers nuclear reactions that cause the star to explode. Alternatively, it can occur when a white dwarf star is triggered into runaway nuclear fusion by a collision with another star.

Depending on how far away the supernova is it can be as luminous as a bright new star, the moon, or a second sun. It occurs suddenly and lasts for several weeks or months before fading away. If a supernova shines bright enough, the other stars in the sky will vanish from view. We can’t see the stars during the day, not because of the blue sky, but because of the ambient light from the sun. 

This is also one major reason photos from space often lack stars in the black sky. If a supernova is close enough to earth it could destroy earth. Luckily there are no super massive stars close enough to earth to pose a risk.

Supernova explosion in the center of the Andromeda galaxy “Elements of this image furnished by NASA” It is essentially an enhanced photo of a supernova explosion in a neighboring galaxy. Stock Photo ID: 2495486227 by muratart.

The Betelgeuse Supernova

Betelgeuse the bright red star in the constellation Orion is thought to be close to going supernova, and when it does it will be about as bright as half a full moon in our sky but concentrated in a point. What does “close” mean? Some astronomers say within decades, some say within a few thousand years. Could Kevin’s beautiful picture above depict this future event?

Illustration of the Orion constellation. To find Betelgeuse, first find Orion’s belt, then look up to the left. The reddish star is Betelgeuse. It is visible at this time of year (on a clear night). Stock Vector ID: 1631025025 by Tedgun.

We are stardust

The first stars in the Universe were made of 75% hydrogen and 25% helium and trace amounts of Lithium, just like the entire Universe at the time. Heavier elements that could form rocky planets or other solid celestial bodies did not exist.

However, inside the cores of these stars, heavier elements such as carbon, oxygen, and iron were formed by fusion. These early stars are referred to as first generation stars. They tended to be large and ended their lives in massive supernova explosions. The dusty remains of these explosions became the building blocks of the second and third generation stars we see today as well as the planets, our bodies and all life. We are stardust.

The first-generation stars consisted of 75% hydrogen and 25% helium and trace amounts of Lithium. A second or third generation star like our sun is still mostly hydrogen and helium but also many other elements. The rocky planets circling the sun are mainly elements heavier than hydrogen and helium. Image credit NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI.

Finally, a 33 second YouTube video illustrating a Supernova (the creation of the Crab nebula)

Would you like to see Betelgeuse explode into a supernova in your lifetime?

To see the Super Facts click here

Author: thomasstigwikman

My name is Thomas Wikman. I am a software/robotics engineer with a background in physics. I am currently retired. I took early retirement. I am a dog lover, and especially a Leonberger lover, a home brewer, craft beer enthusiast, I’m learning French, and I am an avid reader. I live in Dallas, Texas, but I am originally from Sweden. I am married to Claudia, and we have three children. I have two blogs. The first feature the crazy adventures of our Leonberger Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle as well as information on Leonbergers. The second blog, superfactful, feature information and facts I think are very interesting. With this blog I would like to create a list of facts that are accepted as true among the experts of the field and yet disputed amongst the public or highly surprising. These facts are special and in lieu of a better word I call them super-facts.

31 thoughts on “The Betelgeuse Supernova”

  1. This is all so fascinating! Orion is one of my fav constellations. And, definitely, I would love to see Betelgeuse exploring into a supernova! How amazing it would be?! Thanks, Thomas, for bring up one more amazing super fact! Light and blessings to you my friend!

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    1. Thank you so much Diane. I also think it is fascinating. It would be quite an amazing event if it happened in our lifetime. Some people might go crazy seeing it though, making up all kinds of stories instead of listening to the astro-physicists.

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    2. I am wondering in these conspiracy theory laden anti-science times what some people will think when there is a new extremely bright star in the sky, about 3,800 times as bright as Sirius, or like a half moon but a point. Ignore the scientists and their stupid supernova, it is a spaceship, the aliens are coming, it is a bomb, the sky is on fire.

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    3. Well I am not entirely sure about that. Before/during the total eclipse in April some people (Alex Jones, even some MAGA politicians, etc.) were saying that the “elites” were planning to use the eclipse to take over the world and that there were Masonic rituals going on. That it would serve as a cover for taking down the power grid etc. But a supernova would be significantly more spectacular so it could be worse.

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  4. I would imagine Thomas seeing a Supernova would be spectacular, so long as we were well away from the epicentre 🙂 or I doubt we would remember it 😉

    Thank you for more Super- information, about the Cosmos Thomas…
    Have A Super Weekend… ❤

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    1. I agree Sue, I think it would be spectacular too. Luckily Betelgeuse is sufficiently far away (650 light-years) that it poses no great risk but close enough to shine up the sky as a very bright star (~4,000 times brighter than Sirius). There is nothing closer that could turn into a supernova in the foreseeable future. Thank you so much Sue and have a super weekend you too.

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    2. Well someone on Facebook pointed out to me yesterday that I only thought about myself (I posted about it on Facebook too). How about the aliens who live nearby Betelgeuse? Well, I hope there are no aliens nearby Betelgeuse. If that is the case maybe earth could accept some alien refugees. Anyway, I am not serious, but I wish you are super weekend too.

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  5. It’s really amazing how much power is within a star. I think we tend to take that for granted because they look so small and far away. But, it truly is awe inspiring.

    Thank you for this, Thomas! Very fascinating and informative! 🙏

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    1. Thank you so much Kevin. Yes you are right. Our star, the sun, has a diameter that is 109 times larger than earth’s, which means you could fit more than a million earths inside the sun, and yet our sun is a yellow dwarf star that certainly cannot explode in a supernova. Betelgeuse on the other hand has a diameter 700 times larger than the sun’s and right now it is just a slowly glowing red ball compared to the giant explosion it one day will become. Our nuclear weapons explosions are just sardin sneezes compared to a hurricane.

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  7. Thanks for the great post about the potential Betelgeuse supernova. It’s a fun topic and one near and dear to me. As I believe I mentioned, my graduate advisor, Dr. Stirling Colgate, was the astronomer who predicted that a supernova explosion would be preceded by a neutrino burst. He was proven right by Supernova 1987A. Later, some of my observations of supernovae in distant galaxies were part of the study that led to the discovery of dark energy. They’re fascinating objects. From a scientific side, it would be amazing if Betelgeuse exploded in our lifetime. It would give us an unprecedented close-up view of a supernova blast. I’m sure we’d learn a lot!

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    1. Thank you so much David for your kind support. I certainly remember you telling me about your advisor. It was nothing wrong with my advisor in Robotics but I have to admit I am a bit jeolous that you had such a prominent scientist as an advisor. His discovery/theory is extremely interesting and fascinating. I don’t seriously thing we will see a Betelgeuse supernova in our lifetime but if it happened it would be wonderful. I can only imagine the science you and your collegues would be able to figure out from it.

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  9. Your post is fascinating! I love the stars and moon and learning about how much deeper everything is than it actually appears is so amazing. Thank you for sharing all this enlightening information, Thomas 😊

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