http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/20/two-suns-twin-stars_n_811864.html

Quote :

"Earth could be getting a second sun, at least temporarily. Dr. Brad Carter, Senior Lecturer of Physics at the University of Southern Queensland, outlined the scenario to news.com.au. Betelgeuse, one of the night sky's brightest stars, is losing mass, indicating it is collapsing. It could run out of fuel and go super-nova at any time. When that happens, for at least a few weeks, we'd see a second sun, Carter says. There may also be no night during that timeframe. The Star Wars-esque scenario could happen by 2012, Carter says... or it could take longer. The explosion could also cause a neutron star or result in the formation of a black hole 1300 light years from Earth, reports news.com.au. But doomsday sayers should be careful about speculation on this one. If the star does go super-nova, Earth will be showered with harmless particles, according to Carter. "They will flood through the Earth and bizarrely enough, even though the supernova we see visually will light up the night sky, 99 per cent of the energy in the supernova is released in these particles that will come through our bodies and through the Earth with absolutely no harm whatsoever," he told news.com.au. In fact, a neutrino shower could be beneficial to Earth. According to Carter this "star stuff" makes up the universe. "It literally makes things like gold, silver - all the heavy elements - even things like uranium....a star like Betelgeuse is instantly forming for us all sorts of heavy elements and atoms that our own Earth and our own bodies have from long past supernovi," said Carter. "

Well, there goes Orion's shoulder.

Is this real life?

1/20/2011 11:07:52 PM

no its just fantasy

we're caught in a landslide

1/20/2011 11:09:16 PM

but the world is gonna end on May something this year

so who cares right?


p.s. that would be cool

Quote :

"Well, there goes Orion's shoulder."

ahh, dont worry, the galaxy is on orion's belt

1/20/2011 11:10:45 PM

Yeah honestly, I think it will be really cool to actually see this. Although it will be weird no longer having that red star right up there. And having a while where this is no darkness would be weird...I wonder what that will fuck up.

1/20/2011 11:12:49 PM

We've all heard scenarios where there is no sun, and what that would do to plants. What would two weeks of solid daylight do to plants and animals? Or will it just be like that shit in Alaska each year?

1/20/2011 11:16:48 PM

It won't be anywhere near as bright as the Sun. It will, however, be roughly the brightness of the full moon for a few weeks or so, which will be pretty impressive. If this happens during the winter time, when Betelgeuse is in the night sky, it will be bright enough to cast a shadow at night. If it happens in the summer time, when Betelgeuse is in the sky during the day, it will still be visible in broad daylight (though, as I said, no one will be mistaking it for the Sun).

Betelgeuse is pretty much certain to go supernova in the next few hundred millenia or so. No one would be surprised if it were tomorrow. No one would be surprised if it were 100,000 years from now. I'm hoping for sooner rather than later...

1/21/2011 12:36:17 AM

I bet it doesn't happen this century.

It's crazy that an event with such a large potential range of occurring happens in a very teeny, tiny, infinitesimal amount of time.

1/21/2011 12:39:38 AM

Quote :

"ahh, dont worry, the galaxy is on orion's belt"

oh god i want to punch you in the face so hard right now

1/21/2011 12:40:59 AM

^For quoting a good movie?

1/21/2011 2:09:46 AM

If it is over 1300 light years away, would this actually have had to occur 1300 years in the past for us to see it now? Maybe this event already happened. This is like time travel.

1/21/2011 7:02:46 AM

Quote :

"Statusnaturae 11 minutes ago (8:24 AM) 22 Fans Wait two suns? Mmmmm maybe the mayans weren't so off afterall? "

1/21/2011 8:43:37 AM

you know the timing of this is weird... i've been going out to walk the dog behind my house, and when i do, i stare up at the stars for a while... i've thought to myself for the past few weeks how cool it would be to see orion's shoulder to explode. (of course I've known academically this was a possibility for a long time)

1/21/2011 8:58:32 AM

what if we get sucked in!

1/21/2011 9:04:00 AM

then we'll end up on planet of the apes

1/21/2011 9:05:32 AM

get your hands off me, you damned dirty ape

1/21/2011 9:26:14 AM

Quote :

"Betelgeuse is pretty much certain to go supernova in the next few hundred millenia or so. No one would be surprised if it were tomorrow. No one would be surprised if it were 100,000 years from now. I'm hoping for sooner rather than later..."

Me too.

1/21/2011 9:31:29 AM

Mass suicides on Earth when this happens.

Will it knock out our satellites, communications, and power grids?

1/21/2011 9:47:06 AM

1/21/2011 9:55:25 AM

Quote :

"If it is over 1300 light years away, would this actually have had to occur 1300 years in the past for us to see it now? Maybe this event already happened. This is like time travel."

pikey anything telescopes see in outer space already happened

1/21/2011 9:59:43 AM

So how do we know that this star hasn't already collapsed?

1/21/2011 12:45:17 PM

we dont

1/21/2011 1:13:19 PM

^^^yep. its crazy when you think about

and chances are it already has happened. just waiting for it to get here


..im holding on to the hope that there will be a concentrated mass of particles that wipes out north korea

[Edited on January 21, 2011 at 1:19 PM. Reason : f]

1/21/2011 1:15:22 PM

we should send a probe out there to find out

1/21/2011 1:19:33 PM

it's the GRBs, not the supernovae, that get you

1/21/2011 1:21:46 PM

^^^"chances are" that it could have exploded 1000 years ago, will explode today, or will explode several hundred thousand years from now.
http://www.space.com/10662-betelgeuse-sun.html

Quote :

"Several online news sites, including the Huffington Post, have reported that the star Betelgeuse will undergo a supernova explosion next year — yes, that's 2012 — and shine as brightly in the sky as a second sun. But according to scientists, it's all nonsense. "Betelgeuse is losing mass, and it will turn into a supernova soon, but that 'soon' means on an astronomical time scale: It's as likely to happen a million years from now as it is tomorrow," University of Illinois astronomer Jim Kaler told Life's Little Mysteries, a sister site of SPACE.com. No one knows quite when Betelgeuse, which is about 10 to 20 times more massive than our sun, will explode. But when it does detonate, the star won't look like a second sun in our sky, Kaler said. "The supernova would hit somewhere around the brightness of a crescent moon," said Kaler, who has focused his research on dying stars since the 1950s. "It would definitely be visible in full daylight, and it would cast shadows. It might scare the crap out of people to be honest, but it would be nowhere near as bright as the sun." And there isn't any reason to be afraid of this particular star explosion. When a star goes supernova, it emits a huge amount of matter and radiation, creating a shock wave that destroys everything within about 30 light-years of it. One light-year is the distance that light travels in a year, about 6 trillion miles (10 trillion kilometers). Some supernovas produce gamma-ray bursts as well, which are intense and dangerous blasts of radiation. But Betelgeuse is about 600 light-years away — too far away to threaten Earth — and it will become what scientists describe as a "core-collapse type II supernova." "Those definitely don't produce gamma-ray bursts," said Kaler. So what will happen when Betelgeuse explodes — whenever that may be? "Well, it will make a God-awful mess of the constellation Orion," remarked Kaler. Natalie Wolchover is a Staff Writer for Life's Little Mysteries, a sister site to SPACE.com. You can follow her on Twitter @nattyover."

[Edited on January 21, 2011 at 1:52 PM. Reason : ]

1/21/2011 1:51:20 PM

Scientists using the term "GOD-awful"???

1/21/2011 1:56:50 PM

no scientist has EVER had religious beliefs



















EVER.

1/21/2011 1:59:36 PM

Religion?! In my science?!

It's more likely than you think.

1/21/2011 2:17:05 PM

I'm a scientist....GOD DAMNIT!!!

1/21/2011 2:19:10 PM

Quote :

"pikey anything telescopes see in outer space already happened"

Whenever I read tww I have to remind myself that all of the posts happened in the past. It's like time travel.

1/21/2011 2:19:11 PM

I thought its only about 600 light years away, so if it lights up next year that means it actually went supernova in 1412?

1/21/2011 2:45:18 PM

Yes, the kids who are into it now are just trying to be retro.

1/21/2011 2:59:04 PM

Fuckin hipsters.

1/21/2011 3:02:34 PM

yo mama so old she detonated the Betelgeuse

1/21/2011 3:11:45 PM

Optimus, they are still unsure about the exact distance. The last estimate was about 650 light years with a margin of error 150 light years.

1/21/2011 3:29:50 PM

the sunlight that hits your face actually happened 7 minutes ago.

you already missed it.

its over.

1/21/2011 3:49:11 PM

My light gets here in 12 parsecs.

1/21/2011 3:52:39 PM

I did the Kessel Run in 12.




[Edited on January 21, 2011 at 3:54 PM. Reason : ]

1/21/2011 3:53:50 PM

in other news

Quote :

"Dr. Brad Carter, Senior Lecturer of Physics at the University of Southern Queensland, was sacked today sources report"

well, if he wasn't, he ought to be.

1/21/2011 3:59:23 PM

Quote :

"Addendum: NEWS.com.au would like to apologise for their error - as we all know, Betelgeuse is the second biggest star in the Orion constellation, not the universe. "

lulz

1/21/2011 4:01:54 PM

Quote :

"pikey anything telescopes see in outer space already happened"

dweedle anything anything sees anywhere already happened

1/21/2011 4:37:37 PM

obviously, we're talking about happening in noticeable periods of time though aren't we

1/21/2011 4:44:54 PM

i notice time changing all the time

1/21/2011 4:47:19 PM

this thread is full of dumb

1/21/2011 4:56:12 PM

no it's just fantasy
we're caught in a landslide


sounds exciting

1/21/2011 5:12:51 PM