MOSCOW, April 7 The star Betelgeuse should “die” in the next 10 thousand years, but when exactly is impossible to understand, there is a possibility that this has already happened, and the inhabitants of the Earth will see its explosion several hundred years later, when the light reaches the planet, said astrophysicist Vyacheslav Avdeev.
Betelgeuse is a red supergiant in a late stage of evolution, one of the brightest stars in the sky, located 600 light years from Earth. 
» It may happen that it (the star Betelgeuse — ed.) exploded, flared up like a supernova, and that was about 100 years ago, and we still have to wait another 500 years before it comes to us. This is also possible, but maybe not so. We don’t know, unfortunately,” Avdeev said.
As the expert explained, if hydrogen and helium are still burning in the Betelgeuse layer source, then it will “last” for several thousand more years. If other substances are already burning around the star: carbon, nitrogen, silicon, iron, this means that it has begun to use up its remains and is about to explode. However, it is extremely difficult to determine what is happening in the depths of Betelgeuse, observing it from Earth.
«Therefore, it is impossible to say whether it will explode now, tomorrow or in a hundred years, but in 10 thousand years it will most likely explode. The time scatter, unfortunately, is like this,» the astrophysicist added.
In 2019, Betelgeuse began to rapidly lose its visible luminosity. It was then assumed that the star might explode in the near future. But, as scientists have established, the cause was an ejected cloud of dust that blocked visibility. Then Betelgeuse's brightness returned.
Свежие комментарии