Supernova in 2012?

[Roland Jacopetti]

So what is all this stuff about Betelgeuse (sp?) preparing to go supernova, and there'll be two suns in the sky, and there might not be any night for a while and maybe it'll all happen in 2012? Is that what the Mayan calendar was talking about? Is the government keeping the real truth from us? And there'll be these rays that'll shower down on us from the supernova, but it won't hurt a bit, and maybe might even be good for us? Did you all read about this? I've never thought I'd be lucky enough to be around for the end of the world, but maybe so. Anybody have any arcane information they'd like to share? Is it time for the ETs among us to come out of the closet? Frankly, it all makes a lot more sense than what's going on in the great world of International Politics. Does Obama really think it's OK to let Baby Doc in to Haiti and keep out Aristide? My old pal Scoop Nisker from KSAN said, "If you don't like the news, go out and make some of your own." Well, I really dislike almost all the news more all the time, except for the supernova stuff. Maybe that's the REAL news. Whaddaya think?

Roland

[Clancy]

So what is all this stuff about Betelgeuse (sp?) preparing to go supernova, and there'll be two suns in the sky, and there might not be any night for a while and maybe it'll all happen in 2012...

I agree, astronomy and cosmology are far more interesting than politics. Here's some info about Betelgeuse from Space.com;

https://www.space.com/10662-betelgeuse-sun.html

"Betelgeuse is losing mass, and it will turn into a supernova soon, but that 'soon' means on an astronomical time scale: It's as likely to happen a million years from now as it is tomorrow," University of Illinois astronomer Jim Kaler told Life's Little Mysteries, a sister site of SPACE.com.

No one knows quite when Betelgeuse, which is about 10 to 20 times more massive than our sun, will explode. But when it does detonate, the star, which forms the constellation Orion's right shoulder, won't look like a second sun in our sky, Kaler said.

"The supernova would hit somewhere around the brightness of a crescent moon," said Kaler, who has focused his research on dying stars since the 1950s. "It would definitely be visible in full daylight, and it would cast shadows. It might scare the crap out of people to be honest, but it would be nowhere near as bright as the sun."

And there isn't any reason to be afraid of this particular star explosion.

When a star goes supernova, it blasts a huge amount of matter and radiation outward through space. If such an event were to happen within 30 light-years from here, it would significantly damage the Earth's ozone layer and cause mass extinctions. One light-year is the distance that light travels in a year, about 6 trillion miles (10 trillion kilometers).

Some supernovas produce gamma-ray bursts as well, which are intense and dangerous blasts of radiation. But Betelgeuse is about 600 light-years away — too far away to threaten Earth — and it will become what scientists describe as a "core-collapse type II supernova."

"Those definitely don't produce gamma-ray bursts," said Kaler.

So what will happen when Betelgeuse explodes — whenever that may be?

"Well, it will make a God-awful mess of the constellation Orion," remarked Kaler.
https://www.space.com/10662-betelgeuse-sun.html

[Larry Robinson]

Astronomers estimate Betelgeuse to be approximately 640 light years from the earth, which means that when it does go supernova it will take 640 years for the news (light) to reach us.

[The Owl]

In other words, Betelgeuse may have gone supernova a hundred or more years ago but we still wouldn't know about it for 500 years...

[Karl Frederick]

Astronomers estimate Betelgeuse to be approximately 640 light years from the earth, which means that when it does go supernova it will take 640 years for the news (light) to reach us.

Yes, and at this time we don't know whether the supernova has occurred. If the distance figure is accurate, what we see of Betelgeuse now shows us what was happening to it 640 years ago, in 1371 AD. For example, if Betelgeuse went supernova in 1421 AD, we'll see the evidence 50 years from now, in 2061 AD.

[Philip Tymon]

A little bit of knowledge is dangerous.

So what is all this stuff about Betelgeuse (sp?) preparing to go supernova, and there'll be two suns in the sky, and there might not be any night for a while and maybe it'll all happen in 2012? Is that what the Mayan calendar was talking about? Is the government keeping the real truth from us? And there'll be these rays that'll shower down on us from the supernova, but it won't hurt a bit, and maybe might even be good for us? Did you all read about this? I've never thought I'd be lucky enough to be around for the end of the world, but maybe so. Anybody have any arcane information they'd like to share? Is it time for the ETs among us to come out of the closet? Frankly, it all makes a lot more sense than what's going on in the great world of International Politics. Does Obama really think it's OK to let Baby Doc in to Haiti and keep out Aristide? My old pal Scoop Nisker from KSAN said, "If you don't like the news, go out and make some of your own." Well, I really dislike almost all the news more all the time, except for the supernova stuff. Maybe that's the REAL news. Whaddaya think?

Roland

[anjaloba]

check out the Law of Time website...plus the Noosphere conferemce online both

In'Lachesh - You are another myself~