One of the brightest stars in the sky is about to explode

Located in the corner of the constellation Orion (constellation Orion) is one of the brightest stars in the sky that humans can observe - Alpha Orionis, also known as Betelgeuse, and according to the analysis of the house In astronomy, this star is on the last journey of 'life' and is about to end itself in a huge explosion (supernova), and create countless fluctuations nearby.

If you don't already know, supernova is a transient astronomy event that takes place in the final stages of evolution in massive stars, which a giant explosion will eventually result in. marked the destruction of that star. A recently published scientific study by researchers at Villanova University shows that the light from Betelgeuse is about half as weak as it normally is. This is a strong sign - though by no means definitive evidence that the star is entering a supernova period.

The findings of a team from Villanova University have created a topic of intense debate in astronomy. At the average maximum brightness that is commonly recorded, Betelgeuse is the sixth or seventh brightest star that humans can observe, but according to the measurements from mid-December to now, the brightness of Betelgeuse has decreased sharply. weight, making it drop to 21st place and has no signs of recovery.

In fact, modified stars like Betelgeuse often have luminosities that fluctuate over time, but the sudden and sharp dimming seen above is meant to show that something unusual could be happening to the star at this time. When a star becomes too old, it will exhaust energy and lose a large part of its mass. The dying star is surrounded by a halo of dust and gas, obscuring our view of this star and this is also the reason why it becomes dimmer.

In the event of a supernova happening to Betelgeuse, the halo emitted by this explosion will be so bright that it can be seen from Earth even during the day. However, the light from the star takes 600 years to reach us, so when we actually see the last moment of Betelgeuse, in fact this star has disappeared for 600 years. The super-massive star is currently surrounded by a giant mass of gas nearly the diameter of our solar system.