UCSB: A Massive Star's Dying Breaths

Find out the latest thinking about our universe.
Post Reply
User avatar
bystander
Apathetic Retiree
Posts: 21573
Joined: Mon Aug 28, 2006 2:06 pm
Location: Oklahoma

UCSB: A Massive Star's Dying Breaths

Post by bystander » Sat Feb 29, 2020 4:46 pm

A Massive Star's Dying Breaths
University of California, Santa Barbara | 2020 Feb 28

Physicists model the supernovae that result from pulsating supergiants like Betelgeuse

Betelgeuse has been the center of significant media attention lately. The red supergiant is nearing the end of its life, and when a star over 10 times the mass of the Sun dies, it goes out in spectacular fashion. With its brightness recently dipping to the lowest point in the last hundred years, many space enthusiasts are excited that Betelgeuse may soon go supernova, exploding in a dazzling display that could be visible even in daylight.

While the famous star in Orion's shoulder will likely meet its demise within the next million years -- practically couple days in cosmic time -- scientists maintain that its dimming is due to the star pulsating. The phenomenon is relatively common among red supergiants, and Betelgeuse has been known for decades to be in this group.

Coincidentally, researchers at UC Santa Barbara have already made predictions about the brightness of the supernova that would result when a pulsating star like Betelgeuse explodes. ...

A Massive Star's Dying Breaths: Pulsating Red Supergiants and
Their Resulting Type IIP Supernovae
~ Jared A. Goldberg, Lars Bildsten, Bill Paxton
Know the quiet place within your heart and touch the rainbow of possibility; be
alive to the gentle breeze of communication, and please stop being such a jerk.
— Garrison Keillor

User avatar
neufer
Vacationer at Tralfamadore
Posts: 18805
Joined: Mon Jan 21, 2008 1:57 pm
Location: Alexandria, Virginia

The Pumpkinification of Betelgeuse

Post by neufer » Sat Feb 29, 2020 10:39 pm

Art Neuendorffer

Post Reply