Alpha Orionis, or Betelgeuse, is one of the brightest and largest stars known (a red supergiant), and for all you astronomy nerds going "Ooh where is it??", its located on the shoulder of the constellation Orion.
Astronomers have noticed that over the past few decades, Betelgeuse is actually evaporating, giving off a plume of gas that extends to six times the diameter of the star. If Betelgeuse replaced our sun, that plume would reach all the way to Neptune. However, the star itself is losing mass, and is therefore shrinking onto itself.
In the next few thousand years, Betelgeuse is going to undergo a supernova explosion. Pretty cool.
Source: Wikipedia, Astronomy Picture of the Day
No comments:
Post a Comment