If betelgeuse goes supernova will it affect earth?

https://www.jameswebbdiscovery.com/faqs/if-betelgeuse-goes-supernova-will-it-affect-earth

16 9 3 years ago

TL;DR: Probably not.

jmclnx• 3 years ago

I did not read it yet, but to me the only affect would be a nice bright start for a bit of time. Maybe even visible during daytime. Me, hopping it already happened 640 years ago or so, but that is rather doubtful.

Off to read it now :)

ls612• 3 years ago

It would be as bright as the Moon and easily visible in daytime. And satellites would probably have higher error rates from radiation. But we on Earth would not be affected.

PM_me_your_math• 3 years ago

This makes think of those YouTube channels that are a live loop of the night sky. You'll often see them around annual meteor showers. There is usually a countdown that says "best view in 34 minutes." The live video accumulates views, and people stick around for the 34 minutes. Then the countdown resets, people get mad and leave, then a new crop rolls in. It is stupid, but big nod for the troll.

The same tactic would probably work with a Betelgeuse Live View Channel, except "best view" would be between 640 and 10,000 years.

MilStdJunkie• 3 years ago

The inverse square law is a harsh mistress.

At the same time, it's always good to remain humble and realize we don't know everything about these . . utterly gigantic . . natural processes. The energy output is almost certainly not uniform over the the surface of the body, and there could be unforeseen lasing from all sorts of phenomenon. Our best science says "almost certainly not", so it would be incredibly interesting to see it happen. Or rather, see the light of it reaching us.

KingMachiavelli• 3 years ago

One notable event occurred in late 2019 when Betelgeuse experienced an unprecedented dimming, leading to speculation about an impending explosion. However, subsequent observations and data analysis revealed that this dimming was likely caused by stellar activity rather than a pre-supernova state.

So probably not during any current persons lifetime. :/

tzs• 3 years ago

PBS Space Time just released a new episode a couple of hours ago [1] called "What Supernova Distance Would Trigger Mass Extinction?".

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrRvJUZaswo

nuc1e0n• 3 years ago

Naa, it's too far away. It'll be a cool light show though.

ireneobvem• 3 years ago

I highly suggest that everyone take a look at the "Chronological list of James Webb Discoveries," which can be easily found as the first result on Google. It contains a remarkable compilation of findings from the James Webb Telescope, including exoplanets, galaxies located at extreme distances, and quasars

If betelgeuse goes supernova will it affect earth?

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