A
Concept Paper
on
Betelgeuse: The Eventual
Supernova
‘
I.
Background of the Paper
At the end of December 2019, Betelgeuse, one of the top 10 brightest stars in the sky had
fallen to 21st place (Briggs, 2020). This caused astronomers to start speculating that the star was
about to explode. By the end of February 2020, it started to brighten up again. Now, a study
suggests that the dimming of the star is caused by dust. But another published observation ran
counter to the dust explanation (Grossman, 2020).
Observations from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope showed that the unexpected
dimming of the supergiant star Betelgeuse was caused by a traumatic outburst. Betelgeuse
ejected hot materials into the space that later on turned into dust clouds. These dust clouds
blocked the light coming from Betelgeuse. This made the Betelgeuse look like it dimmed
(Andreoli et. al., 2020)
Another significant observation suggests that the dimming of Betelgeuse was caused by
the star’s natural convection cycle. The star’s outer atmosphere constantly pulsates as bubbles of
hot plasma rise to the surface, it cools down and becomes denser and eventually sinks down
again. Multiple cycles syncing up could explain the dimming of the supergiant star Betelgeuse.
(Grossman, 2020)
Betelgeuse is a really popular star for astronomers not only because it is a shoulder of the
Orion, a constellation in the Northern Hemisphere, but also because of its fluctuating diameter
(Howell, 2017). As we found out that Betelgeuse is one of the stars that is nearing its end, we
decided to go on with this topic. The main part of this paper addresses the supergiant star
Betelgeuse and its recent activities and behaviors.
Concept definition
Betelgeuse is a first-magnitude red supergiant star in the constellation Orion. It is also
called Alpha Orionis, and is the second brightest star in the constellation Orion, marking the
eastern shoulder of the hunter. Its name is derived from the Arabic word bat al-jawzāʾ, which
means “the giant’s shoulder.” It is roughly 950 times as large as the Sun. Betelgeuse is one of the
largest stars known. For comparison, the diameter of Mars’s orbit around the Sun is 328 times
the Sun’s diameter. Infrared studies from spacecraft have revealed that Betelgeuse is surrounded
by immense shells of material evidently shed by the star during episodes of mass loss over the
past 100,000 years. The largest of these shells has a radius of nearly 7.5 light-years. The star is
approximately 640 light-years from Earth (Encyclopædia Britannica, 2020).
Betelgeuse is one of the brightest stars in the night sky. It is a variable star and usually
has an apparent magnitude of about 0.6, but, beginning in late 2019, it began dimming to an
apparent magnitude of 1.6 by early 2020. It is easily noticeable even by the casual observers, not
only because of its brightness and position in the brilliant Orion but also because of its deep
reddish color. Normally, Betelgeuse is among the 10 brightest stars in the sky. However, when it
began dimming in October, and by mid-December 2019, the star had faded so much it wasn’t
even in the top 20, Villanova University’s Edward Guinan reported in an Astronomer’s
Telegram.
The dimming isn’t all that odd for a star like Betelgeuse. It’s what’s known as a variable star,
and its shifts in brightness have been closely studied for decades. However, it is unusual for one
of the sky’s most prominent points of light to fade so noticeably, prompting scientists to consider
the possibility that something more exciting could be about to happen: Betelgeuse might explode
and die, briefly blazing brighter than the full moon before vanishing from our night sky forever
(Drake, 2019).
II.
Literature Review
Betelgeuse is best known as the bright red "shoulder" star in the constellation of Orion, is
one of the most remarkable objects in all of astronomy. It is a red supergiant star: red because of
its low surface temperatures, supergiant because its radius is so enormous that — if it were to
replace the Sun in our Solar System — it would engulf the orbits of Mercury, Venus, Earth,
Mars, the asteroid belt, and possibly even Jupiter. Betelgeuse is so large and so close that it was
the first star beyond our Sun to ever be resolved as more than a point source.One of its property
is that Betelgeuse is a pulsating, variable star, meaning that its diameter and brightness both
change with time (Siegel, 2019).
Betelgeuse lies some 430 light-years from Earth. When Betelgeuse does blow up, our planet
Earth is too far away for this explosion to harm, much less destroy, life on Earth. Astrophysicists
say we’d have to be within 50 light-years of a supernova for it to harm us. Betelgeuse is nearly
10 times this distance. So we’re safe from Betelgeuse (Sessions, 2019).
Betelgeuse has recovered from appearing unusually dim over the past six months,
but is still expected to explode in a spectacular supernova sometime in the next (about) 100,000
years. Light takes about 700 years to reach us from Betelgeuse, but about 1,300 years to reach us
from the Orion Nebula and its surrounding dust and gas (NASA,2020).
Massive supergiant stars like Betelgeuse are important because they expel heavy
elements such as carbon into space that become the building blocks of new generations of stars.
Carbon is also a basic ingredient for life as we know it. If it indeed explodes, it would be
noticeable with our naked eyes. Though mankind will be unharmed, adding an object brighter
than the moon will be disruptive (Betz, 2020). Also, if it explodes, it may trigger a solar proton
event, which happens when the Sun releases high numbers of energetic protons that can disrupt
communications and affect power grids. This event could devastate our technology civilization
(Melott, 2020).
The importance of this paper is to have clear and wide knowledge about Betelgeuse.
Also, this paper addresses the star’s recent activity. As to its recent dimming that might lead to an
explosion, by this paper we will learn how we are going to be affected from this situation. In
discovering and exploring about Betelgeuse, we will realize how vast our universe is and how
interesting it is.
There are many things that are needed to study in astronomy and Betelgeuse is one of
them. Conducting this paper helps us to get and to know more about it, as astronomers continue
to study it on what is happening to Betelgeuse. We conducted this paper to share how important
it is to study like anything else.
We never imagined that this is what is happening in Betelgeuse so we have given
insights into this concept. One of the reasons we chose this concept was because we knew what
the sky looks like but we don't know what's going on behind it. We have given the opportunity to
find out what’s really going on behind it.
References
Behind
Betelgeuse.
(2020).
Nasa
Science.
Retrieved
from
Retrieved
from
https://science.nasa.gov/behind-betelgeuse
Betelgeuse.
(2020).
Encyclopædia
Britannica.
https://www.britannica.com/place/Betelgeuse-star
Betz, E. (2020). When Betelgeuse goes supernova, what will it look like from Earth? Retrieved
from
https://astronomy.com/news/2020/02/when-betelgeuse-goes-supernov
a-what-will-it-look-like-from-earth
Briggs,
A.
(2020).
Betelgeuse:
What’s
up?
Retrieved
from
https://earthsky.org/space/betelgeuse-dimming-late-2019-early-2020-supernova
Drake, N. (2019). Betelgeuse is acting strange, and astronomers are buzzing. Retrieved from
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2019/12/betelgeuse-isacting-strange-astronomers-are-buzzing-about-supernova/
Grossman, L. (2020). The star Betelgeuse might just be dusty, not about to explode. Retrieved
from https://www.sciencenews.org/article/betelgeuse-star-dust-supernova-e xplosion
Howell,
E.
(2019).
Betelgeuse:
The
Eventual
Supernova.
Retrieved
from
https://www.space.com/22009-betelgeuse.html
Levesque, E. M. & Massey, P. (2020). Betelgeuse Isn’t Dimming Because It’s About To Explode
--
It’s
Just
Dusty.
Retrieved
from
http://www.sci-news.com/astronomy
/dusty-betelgeuse-08201.html
Mellot, A. L. (2019). Betelgeuse supernova: What effects will occur on Earth? Retrieved from
https://astronomy.com/magazine/ask-astro/2019/06/what-effects-willoccur-on-earth-and-in-our-solar-system-when-the-nearby-star-betelgeuse-becomes-a-supernova
Drake, N. (2019). Betelgeuse is acting strange, and astronomers are buzzing. Retrieved from
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2019/12/betelgeuse-isacting-strange-astronomers-are-buzzing-about-supernova/
Grossman, L. (2020). The star Betelgeuse might just be dusty, not about to explode. Retrieved
from https://www.sciencenews.org/article/betelgeuse-star-dust-supernova-explosion
Howell,
E.
(2019).
Betelgeuse:
The
https://www.space.com/22009-betelgeuse.html
Eventual
Supernova.
Retrieved
from
Levesque, E. M. & Massey, P. (2020). Betelgeuse Isn’t Dimming Because It’s About To Explode
--
It’s
Just
Dusty.
Retrieved
from
http://www.sci-news.com/astronomy
/dusty-betelgeuse-08201.html
Mellot, A. L. (2019). Betelgeuse supernova: What effects will occur on Earth? Retrieved from
https://astronomy.com/magazine/ask-astro/2019/06/what-effects-willoccur-on-earth-and-in-our-solar-system-when-the-nearby-star-betelgeuse-becomes-a-supernova
Sessions, L.
(2019).
Will
the star
Betelgeuse
explode someday? Retrieved from
https://earthsky.org/brightest-stars/betelgeuse-will-explode-someday
Siegel,
E.
(2020).
Is
Betelgeuse
About
To
Explode?
Retrieved
from
https://www.forbes.com/sites/startswithabang/2019/12/25/is-betelgeuse-about-to-explode/?sh=68
1e727f47bf
Republic of the Philippines
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Region III Central Luzon
Tarlac City Schools Division
TARLAC NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL
San Roque, Tarlac City
A
Concept Paper
on
Betelgeuse: The Eventual Supernova
Members:
Angel G. Pinili
Shania Mariel B. Siapno
Raica M. Tan
Background of the Paper
explanation (Grossman, 2020).
Observations from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope showed that the unexpected dimming of
the supergiant star Betelgeuse was caused by a traumatic outburst. Betelgeuse ejected hot
materials into the space that later on turned into dust clouds. These dust clouds blocked the light
coming from Betelgeuse. This made the Betelgeuse look like it dimmed (Andreoli et. al., 2020)
87
Betelgeuse is a really popular star for astronomers not only because it is a shoulder of the Orion,
a constellation in the Northern Hemisphere, but also because of its fluctuating diameter (Howell,
2017). As we found out that Betelgeuse is one of the stars that is nearing its end, we decided to
go on with this topic. The main part of this paper addresses the supergiant star Betelgeuse and its
recent activities and behaviors.
Concept definition
Betelgeuse is a first-magnitude red supergiant star in the constellation Orion. It is also called
Alpha Orionis, and is the second brightest star in the constellation Orion, marking the eastern
shoulder of the hunter. Its name is derived from the Arabic word bat al-jawzāʾ, which means “the
giant’s shoulder.” It is roughly 950 times as large as the Sun. Betelgeuse is one of the largest
stars known. For comparison, the diameter of Mars’s orbit around the Sun is 328 times the Sun’s
diameter. Infrared studies from spacecraft have revealed that Betelgeuse is surrounded by
immense shells of material evidently shed by the star during episodes of mass loss over the past
100,000 years. The largest of these shells has a radius of nearly 7.5 light-years. The star is
approximately 640 light-years from Earth (Encyclopædia Britannica, 2020).
Betelgeuse is one of the brightest stars in the night sky. It is a variable star and usually has an
apparent magnitude of about 0.6, but, beginning in late 2019, it began dimming to an apparent
magnitude of 1.6 by early 2020. It is easily noticeable even by the casual observers, not only
because of its brightness and position in the brilliant Orion but also because of its deep reddish
colour. Normally, Betelgeuse is among the 10 brightest stars in the sky. However, when it began
dimming in October, and by mid-December 2019, the star had faded so much it wasn’t even in
the top 20, Villanova University’s Edward Guinan reported in an Astronomer’s Telegram.
The dimming isn’t all that odd for a star like Betelgeuse. It’s what’s known as a variable star, and
its shifts in brightness have been closely studied for decades. However, it is unusual for one of
the sky’s most prominent points of light to fade so noticeably, prompting scientists to consider
the possibility that something more exciting could be about to happen: Betelgeuse might explode
and die, briefly blazing brighter than the full moon before vanishing from our night sky forever
(Drake, 2019).
Literature Review
Betelgeuse is best known as the bright red "shoulder" star in the constellation of Orion, is one of
the most remarkable objects in all of astronomy. It is a red supergiant star: red because of its low
surface temperatures, supergiant because its radius is so enormous that — if it were to replace the
Sun in our Solar System — it would engulf the orbits of Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, the
asteroid belt, and possibly even Jupiter. Betelgeuse is so large and so close that it was the first
star beyond our Sun to ever be resolved as more than a point source.One of its property is that
Betelgeuse is a pulsating, variable star, meaning that its diameter and brightness both change
with time (Siegel, 2019).
Betelgeuse lies some 430 light-years from Earth. When Betelgeuse does blow up, our planet
Earth is too far away for this explosion to harm, much less destroy, life on Earth. Astrophysicists
say we’d have to be within 50 light-years of a supernova for it to harm us. Betelgeuse is nearly
10 times this distance. So we’re safe from Betelgeuse (Sessions, 2019).
Betelgeuse has recovered from appearing unusually dim over the past six months, but is still
expected to explode in a spectacular supernova sometime in the next (about) 100,000 years.
Light takes about 700 years to reach us from Betelgeuse, but about 1,300 years to reach us from
the Orion Nebula and its surrounding dust and gas (NASA,2020).
Massive supergiant stars like Betelgeuse are important because they expel heavy elements such
as carbon into space that become the building blocks of new generations of stars. Carbon is also
a basic ingredient for life as we know it. If it indeed explodes, it would be noticeable with our
naked eyes. Though mankind will be unharmed, adding an object brighter than the moon will be
disruptive (Betz, 2020). Also, if it explodes, it may trigger a solar proton event, which happens
when the Sun releases high numbers of energetic protons that can disrupt communications and
affect power grids. This event could devastate our technology civilization (Melott, 2020).
The importance of this paper is to have clear and wide knowledge about Betelgeuse. Also, this
paper addresses the star’s recent activity. As to its recent dimming that might lead to an
explosion, by this paper we will learn how we are going to be affected from this situation. In
discovering and exploring about Betelgeuse, we will realize how vast our universe is and how
interesting it is.
There are many things that are needed to study in astronomy and Betelgeuse is one of them.
Conducting this paper helps us to get and to know more about it, as astronomers continue to
study it on what is happening to Betelgeuse. We conducted this paper to share how important it is
to study like anything else.
We never imagined that this is what is happening in Betelgeuse so we have given insights into
this concept. One of the reasons we chose this concept was because we knew what the sky looks
like but we don't know what's going on behind it. We have given the opportunity to find out
what’s really going on behind it.
References
Behind
Betelgeuse.
(2020).
Nasa
Science.
Retrieved
from
Retrieved
from
https://science.nasa.gov/behind-betelgeuse
Betelgeuse.
(2020).
Encyclopædia
Britannica.
https://www.britannica.com/place/Betelgeuse-star
Betz, E. (2020). When Betelgeuse goes supernova, what will it look like from Earth? Retrieved
from
https://astronomy.com/news/2020/02/when-betelgeuse-goes-supernov
a-what-will-it-look-like-from-earth
Briggs,
A.
(2020).
Betelgeuse:
What’s
up?
Retrieved
from
https://earthsky.org/space/betelgeuse-dimming-late-2019-early-2020-supernova
Drake, N. (2019). Betelgeuse is acting strange, and astronomers are buzzing. Retrieved from
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2019/12/betelgeuse-isacting-strange-astronomers-are-buzzing-about-supernova/
Grossman, L. (2020). The star Betelgeuse might just be dusty, not about to explode. Retrieved
from https://www.sciencenews.org/article/betelgeuse-star-dust-supernova-e xplosion
Howell,
E.
(2019).
Betelgeuse:
The
Eventual
Supernova.
Retrieved
from
https://www.space.com/22009-betelgeuse.html
Levesque, E. M. & Massey, P. (2020). Betelgeuse Isn’t Dimming Because It’s About To Explode
--
It’s
Just
Dusty.
Retrieved
from
http://www.sci-news.com/astronomy
/dusty-betelgeuse-08201.html
Mellot, A. L. (2019). Betelgeuse supernova: What effects will occur on Earth? Retrieved from
https://astronomy.com/magazine/ask-astro/2019/06/what-effects-willoccur-on-earth-and-in-our-solar-system-when-the-nearby-star-betelgeuse-becomes-a-supernova
Sessions, L.
(2019).
Will the
star Betelgeuse explode someday? Retrieved from
https://earthsky.org/brightest-stars/betelgeuse-will-explode-someday
Siegel,
E.
(2020).
Is
Betelgeuse
About
To
Explode?
Retrieved
from
https://www.forbes.com/sites/startswithabang/2019/12/25/is-betelgeuse-about-to-explode/?sh=68
1e727f47bf