Betelgeuse

Is anyone keeping a tally of existential crises that could end human civilization? May I remove one worry from that list, an item that you didn't even know was there? Today's Moody Monday post is meant in fun. Let's call it "dark humor" for the pun value. It is also, however, serious astronomical information.

I mentioned Betelgeuse back in 2019 when it was dimming unusually. The "armpit of Orion" is back in the news again thanks to a preprint paper:

" We conclude that Betelgeuse should currently be in a late phase (or near the end) of the core carbon burning. After carbon is exhausted in the core, a core-collapse leading to a supernova explosion is expected in a few tens years."
- https://arxiv.org/pdf/2306.00287.pdf, 2023 June 02

Why does it matter if a star over 500 light years away goes supernova? Because in galactic terms, that distance is very nearby. I find many sources that say similar things. Betelgeuse is far enough away that we can expect a pretty light show where it shines as bright as a half-moon for a few months. Then it will disappear for a while, maybe forming a black hole. Betelgeuse simply isn't massive enough for the dangerous possibility of a gamma ray burst when it forms a black hole. Regardless, the constellation Orion will lose its shoulder on the left in the night sky. The best plain language explanation I've found is this one from BBC Sky At Night magazine, although it's maybe not as focused an article as it could be. (Who does that sort of thing, really? *innocent glances around*) Another article provides the math for particle flux, X-rays, neutrino pulse, and such. Short version: Don't worry.

For space-related local news, I still recommend SpaceWeather.com. Learn about sunspot activity, aurora predictions, and asteroid detections. Occasionally, they even feature noctilucent cloud sightings, because... you know... it's very pretty as the earth's atmosphere changes with who-knows-what consequences.

But, hey... there's still a huge pile of snow at the Minneapolis airport, because the recent winter produced just that much precipitation here.