Is Betelgeuse about to go supernova and provide Earth with a second sun? Betelgeuse is classified as a Red Giant, and is the ninth brightest star in the night sky and lies about 640 light years from Earth. It is known to be losing mass, which shows it is burning up its remaining nuclear fuel and its surface is collapsing inward. When it does finally collapse, the outer layers of the sun are thrown off with a tremendous energy release that may be bright enough to make it appear we have a second sun for weeks or months.
Nobody seems to know when this will happen; it could be next year, in the doomsayers apocalyptic 2012, or in tens of thousands of years time. Being 640 light years away means that if we saw it happen tomorrow then it really happened 640 years ago as it takes that length of time for the light to reach us.
The left over mass may form a dense neutron star or collapse into a black hole, either way it will not harm anyone on Earth.
Via HuffingtonPost
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written by jmmcdovey , February 06, 2011