Space
Could Betelgeuse explode in our lifetime? According to a new study, the answer is yes.
A team of astronomers led by Hideyuki Sayo (Tohoku University) has discovered that Betelgeuse is much larger than previously thought, more than 1,200 times larger than the Sun. This means that the giant star may be running out of carbon fuel. “Once the carbon in the core is depleted, a core collapse is expected in a few decades, leading to a supernova explosion,” the authors write.
Betelgeuse, one of the most famous stars in the night sky, is located in the constellation Orion and is a red supergiant. Its unusual behavior has caught the attention of astronomers because it may herald a nearby supernova explosion.
Observations show that Betelgeuse periodically changes its brightness and size. This is due to pulsations that occur within the star. The pulsations cause changes in its volume and temperature, which are reflected in the brightness and color we see from Earth.
The model created by Sayo and his colleagues simulates these pulsations and predicts how Betelgeuse’s brightness will change in the future. They claim that their model accurately matches the observed data and provides a unique insight into the inner state of the star.
However, recent observations show that Betelgeuse has become significantly fainter over the past month. This has caused concern among astronomers, as this dramatic change in brightness could be related to an imminent supernova.
However, it is not yet possible to say for sure whether this is a precursor to a supernova or just a temporary change. Astronomers continue to study Betelgeuse, hoping to gather more data to better understand what is going on inside this mysterious star.
Betelgeuse, one of the brightest and most recognizable stars in the night sky, has long attracted the attention of astronomers for its rapid changes. It was described by Ptolemy as an orange-brown star, while Chinese observers saw it as yellow. Recently, astronomers have classified Betelgeuse as a red giant near the end of its life. This means that the star should explode as a supernova in the next hundreds of thousands or millions of years. Betelgeuse has also been found to pulsate, brightening and dimming over periods of a few months to several years.
In 2019, there was an unexpected dimming of Betelgeuse that caused concern among astronomers. They wondered if the star was approaching its supernova. However, further observations showed that the dimming was caused by a dust cloud and that Betelgeuse’s supernova was still a considerable distance away.
Now, scientists from Tohuko University in Japan have come up with a new hypothesis. They have reanalyzed the data and concluded that Betelgeuse may be closer to its supernova than previously thought. They argue that the star is in the late stages of burning carbon in its core and could be the next galactic supernova.
To understand this hypothesis, it is necessary to know how stars change over the course of their lives. Stars are formed from gas, mostly hydrogen and helium. When these gas clouds collapse, the hydrogen nuclei fuse together, releasing enormous amounts of energy. This energy heats the star and prevents it from collapsing further. Eventually, however, the hydrogen fuel runs out and the star begins to burn heavier elements, such as carbon. This causes the star to expand, turn red, and eventually go supernova.
Betelgeuse is already in a late stage of carbon burning, suggesting that it may be closer to its supernova than previously thought. The star’s pulsations also play an important role in this hypothesis. The pulsations cause the star to temporarily brighten and then dim. By measuring these pulsations, scientists can infer the star’s mass and the fusion processes taking place in its core.
If the hypothesis is correct, Betelgeuse could become the next galactic supernova. This event will be observable from Earth and will provide astronomers with a unique opportunity to study the processes that occur during supernovae in nearby galaxies.
A former US Air Force fighter pilot asserts that he has deciphered
the method behind the extraordinary maneuvers of UFOs, reports dailystar.co.uk.
Over
the past two decades, numerous military encounters with these enigmatic
crafts have been reported, prompting a significant investigation by the
Pentagon.
One of the most renowned sightings occurred during the
USS Nimitz encounter, where fighter pilots witnessed a UFO descending
from 28,000 feet to just above sea level in less than a second.
This
astonishing movement would imply that the craft reached a staggering
speed of 19,000 miles per hour, a velocity that would be fatal to any
human pilot.
According
to Chris Lehto, a former USAF pilot, the craft exhibits two key
characteristics: it moves without inertia, essentially lacking weight,
and it accelerates at an incredibly rapid pace without affecting its
surroundings.
Image: NATO Allied Air Command/Facebook
Chris
believes that the explanation lies within a technology that seems
straight out of science fiction. He proposes that the answer to the UFO
enigma lies in the Alcubierre Drive, a theoretical interstellar engine
conceptualized by Mexican physicist Miguel Alcubierre in 1994.
The
Alcubierre Drive employs a form of “space warp” technology, reminiscent
of what has been depicted in episodes of Star Trek. By bending space, a
craft inside a “warp bubble” could potentially travel at or even
surpass the speed of light without violating the known laws of physics.
While
the Alcubierre Drive remains a hypothetical concept with challenges to
overcome, Chris notes that the required energy is no longer believed to
be unattainably large.
Patents
filed with the US patent office outline the potential workings of the
drive, as well as another groundbreaking technology theorized by
American aerospace engineer Salvatore Pais.
Pais suggests that
high-powered rotating magnets could theoretically eliminate an object’s
inertia, and he has filed a patent for a starship based on this
principle.
However, Chris maintains skepticism regarding Pais’
theory. He explains that while Pais’s patent applications for the US
Navy attracted attention for their potential energy-related
applications, doubts have been raised about their feasibility. There is
speculation that they may be scams, pseudoscience, or disinformation
intended to mislead adversaries of the United States.
Alternatively,
rival theories propose that the “Tic Tac” UFO is a classified Pentagon
project testing similar advanced technologies discussed by Chris.
Scientists say they have found evidence of a new Earth-like
planet that has suddenly appeared in our Solar System and is orbiting
the Sun.
Physicists, including those from the National Astronomical Observatory
of Japan, said the planet is likely to be the mysterious ‘Planet Nine’
that was hypothesised to exist in the far outer edges of the Solar
System.
Several studies in the past have suggested there is likely an
undiscovered planet beyond the Kuiper Belt – a stellar disk of materials
such as asteroids, space rocks, comets around the Sun in the outer
Solar System past the orbit of Neptune.
Independent.co.uk reports: In the new research, published recently in The Astronomical Journal, scientists
found that some of the objects in the Kuiper Belt behave in a way
indicative of the presence of a small planet among them.
One such object, they said, is about 500 astronomical units (AU) from
the Sun, where 1 AU is the distance between the Sun and the Earth.
In comparison Neptune is at a distance of 30 AUs from the Sun.
Some of these were also found to have “odd” orbits suggesting they
are being pull by the gravity of a cosmic entity larger than those that
typically influence such objects.
Computer simulations run by the scientists indicate that the most
likely explanation for the observations was another hidden planet in the
Kuiper Belt.
“We predict the existence of an Earth-like planet,” researchers wrote in the study.
“It is plausible that a primordial planetary body could survive in
the distant Kuiper Belt as a Kuiper Belt planet (KBP), as many such
bodies existed in the early solar system,” they added.
If such a planet exists, researchers say it would have a mass about
1.5 to 3 times that of Earth with an inclination of about 30 degrees.
They say the theorised planet’s orbit would likely place it between 250 and 500 AU from the Sun.
Researchers say the discovery of such a planet close to the Kuiper
Belt can unravel new constraints on planet formation and evolution.
“In conclusion, the results of the KBP scenario support the existence
of a yet-undiscovered planet in the far outer solar system,” scientists
noted.
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