The idea of having two suns visible during the day used to be limited to George Lucas films, but if Dr. Brad Carter, Senior Lecturer at the University of Southern Queensland is right, we may be experiencing that in the next year or so.
Dr. Carter has predicted that Betelgeuse, one of the three stars in Orion’s Belt, is nearing the end of its life cycle. What does that mean exactly? It means we’re in for a spectacular supernova show in the very near future. Seeing as how Betelgeuse happens to be one of the largest, brightest stars in the night sky, seeing it explode would make for quite a show here on Earth. For several weeks, it would shine brighter than a full moon.
Why would all of this happen? Stars are essentially massive balls of gas. The intense pressure of their own gravity pushing the ball together creates intense heat and reactions at the center. The gasses, predominantly hydrogen, fuse together due to said pressure to form denser elements, releasing a ton of energy (heat/light) in the process.
Eventually though, the energy from the fusion at the core is not enough to keep the pressure of the intense gravity in check. When that happens, the star begins to collapse on itself. The extreme rise in internal pressure creates a massive explosion, known as a supernova.
The trouble is, the mass of stars is difficult to examine precisely and is the tool used to predict these things. Knowing when it will actually happen involves making guesses with pretty big margins of error. 2012 could be right on the money, but so could 3012. I’m hoping for the former though so I can put on a jedi costume and stare at the two setting suns off on the horizon like Luke Skywalker.
Read the entire report here.
