new Betelgeuse pic

[Dr Mordrid]

Caption:The surface of Betelgeuse in near infrared at 1.64 micron in wavelength, obtained with the IOTA interferometer (Arizona). The image has been re-constructed with two different algorithms, which yield the same details, of 9 milliarcseconds (mas). The star diameter is about 45 milliarcseconds. Credit: Copyright 2010 Haubois / Perrin (LESIA, Observatoire de Paris)

Link....

Unprecedented Images Show Betelgeuse Has Sunspots

An international team of astronomers has obtained an unprecedented image of the surface of the red supergiant Betelgeuse, in the constellation Orion. The image reveals the presence of two giant bright spots, which cover a large fraction of the surface. Their size is equivalent to the Earth-Sun distance. This observation provides the first strong and direct indication of the presence of the convection phenomenon, transport of heat by moving matter, in a star other than the Sun. This result provides a better understanding of the structure and evolution of supergiants.
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[Elie]

I heard Betelgeuse may be on the verge of a super nova. can't recall the source exactly.

[Dr Mordrid]

This is very true. It's a red giant showing all the signs; it's diameter is changing by 20% or more in a regular pulsation and its spectrum is right for a supernova - iron rich. When it does go, which it may already have but the light hasn't got here yet, it'll be visible during daylight, night will nearly be day and the resulting nebula will be a spectacular addition to our night sky. Quite likely to form a black hole.

Even more impressive will be its partner in Orion - Rigel - which marks Orion's left foot. It's a hot blue supergiant whose chemistry indicates will blow. When it does it'll be a monster. Good thing it's too far away to fry us. Almost certain to form a black hole.

[Elie]

Wonder if the light will reach us during our life time since Betelgeuse is trillions of miles away

[Dr Mordrid]

The best guess distance is ~570 light years, so 570 years is how long it would take for the light to get here after it pops. Might get here tomorrow, might not.

What is of real concern is if a hypernova blew and its pole was aimed at Earth and within a few thousand light years. Hypernova's produce a gamma ray burst out of their poles that can be seen across the width of the universe. A GRB could have major effects here ranging from atmospheric disruptions to just flat frying us like an over done egg. Think of it as standing in front of a gamma ray laser. If one hit the atmosphere with enough power there would be a shower of muons that would kill everything, even under tens of meters of soil, rock or water. Muon's are a lepton, the same family of particles as electrons and neutrinos (and their antiparticles) but they have about 200x the mass of electrons.

We actually are in the sights of a star that could become a hypernova and it's within the danger range, but not in the mood quite yet. Hopefully we'll move out of the way before the fireworks start.

[Technoid]

We actually are in the sights of a star that could become a hypernova and it's within the danger range, but not in the mood quite yet. Hopefully we'll move out of the way before the fireworks start.

Which one is it?

[Mehen]

I heard Betelgeuse may be on the verge of a super nova. can't recall the source exactly.

It will only supernova if you say its name 3 times.

[Dr Mordrid]

Which one is it?

I ws talking about WR104, an unstable Wolf-Rayet giant that data from Keck indicated was pointed straight at us. Fortunately new data announced at this weeks AAS says Keck was wrong and it's aimed ~30 degees away from us, so we can breathe a bit easier. At least until the next WR is found with a better aim

[Dr Mordrid]

Which one is it?

I was talking about WR104, an unstable Wolf-Rayet giant that data from Keck indicated was pointed straight at us. Fortunately new data announced at the recent AAS says Keck was wrong and it's aimed ~30 degees away from us, so we can breathe a bit easier. At least until the next WR is found with a better aim