Odd supergiant star Betelgeuse is brightening up. Is it about to go supernova?

[Admin]

One of the brightest stars in the night sky has been getting oddly brighter, prompting speculations that it might soon explode in a supernova. Can we really expect that celestial spectacle?

Odd supergiant star Betelgeuse is brightening up. Is it about to go supernova? : Read more

 

[Stevec3608]

"Our best models indicate that Betelgeuse is in the stage when it's burning helium to carbon and oxygen in its core," Morgan MacLeod, a postdoctoral fellow in theoretical astrophysics at Harvard University.
Even the most casual search on the internet says that "Of all the elements, helium is the most stable; it will not burn or react with other elements." Morgan MacLeod may have been misquoted. However, wouldn't it have been more accurate to say that Helium is being fused into larger and larger atoms? Then, when the fusion reaction produces Iron, the real fireworks begin? I'm not a Physicist, but this article seems frustratingly inaccurate and poorly written

 

[billslugg]

I know. I cringe when I hear of planets or stars "zooming" through space.

 

[Homer10]

OK, the Doom Sayers now have another thing to obsess on. It was asteroids wising past Earth at only 1 million miles (that's not even close). Now there will be all sorts of click bait telling us of the impending explosion of this large star. OK, people realize, this is a variable star. It constantly changes it's brightness, getting dimmer, and brighter. There are Hundreds of thousands of variable stars in our immediate vicinity in the galaxy. There are no stars that are close enough to our solar system to cause any problem for the next 10 million years. So, when you see this click bait, just move on.

 

[LKK]

"Our best models indicate that Betelgeuse is in the stage when it's burning helium to carbon and oxygen in its core," Morgan MacLeod, a postdoctoral fellow in theoretical astrophysics at Harvard University.
Even the most casual search on the internet says that "Of all the elements, helium is the most stable; it will not burn or react with other elements." Morgan MacLeod may have been misquoted. However, wouldn't it have been more accurate to say that Helium is being fused into larger and larger atoms? Then, when the fusion reaction produces Iron, the real fireworks begin? I'm not a Physicist, but this article seems frustratingly inaccurate and poorly written

"Helium Burning" is in fact the official term for this event though it's not burning in the normal sense.

 

[billslugg]

I've searched the peer reviewed literature and cannot find the speed of transition between "zooming" and "whizzing". Still confused.

 

[LKK]

Man there is a HUGE difference between zooming and whizzing! lol

 

[Helio]

"Our best models indicate that Betelgeuse is in the stage when it's burning helium to carbon and oxygen in its core," Morgan MacLeod, a postdoctoral fellow in theoretical astrophysics at Harvard University.
Even the most casual search on the internet says that "Of all the elements, helium is the most stable; it will not burn or react with other elements." Morgan MacLeod may have been misquoted. However, wouldn't it have been more accurate to say that Helium is being fused into larger and larger atoms? Then, when the fusion reaction produces Iron, the real fireworks begin? I'm not a Physicist, but this article seems frustratingly inaccurate and poorly written

The article stated that fusion was taking place, twice in reference to helium. It is not uncommon to see the use of "burning" in lieu of "fusion" as a slang term since both suggest a before and after effect, and associate heat from burning, which is the later result after gamma rays step down during their path through a star.

 

[Helio]

I've searched the peer reviewed literature and cannot find the speed of transition between "zooming" and "whizzing". Still confused.

One is louder than the other. It may require you to search a zillion times.

 

[billslugg]

I've told you a MILLION times - Don't exaggerate!