Dear Friends,
Click the link to read the whole article.
http://www.theorionzone.com/betelgeuse_supernova_2012.pdf
Love and Light.
David
Seeing Red: Will Betelgeuse Go Supernova in 2012?
Gary A. David
www.theorionzone.com
Redshifting Into the Future
Fierce Orion raises his right arm that holds a warriors’ club, ready to strike down his foes. The red supergiant star Betelgeuse (pronounced "beetle juice"), also known as Alpha Orionis, forms his right shoulder. Because of its deep orange or topaz hue, it is called the Martial Star.
Betelgeuse’s diameter is 8oo times larger than our Sun, and its mass is 20 times greater. It is the 11th brightest star in the heavens, but because it is an irregularly pulsating star called a Mira Variable, its size and magnitude changes. At times its diameter equals that of the orbit of Mars, while at other times its diameter is the same size as the orbit of Jupiter. The magnitude of Betelgeuse also varies. Periodically it becomes slightly more brilliant than Rigel, Orion’s left knee and the eighth brightest star in the sky. Then for no reason it can reduce in luminosity to approximately the same as Bellatrix, Orion’s other shoulder and only the 27th brightest star in the heavens. Clearly Betelgeuse is not a stable stellar object.
1
Astronomers have recently determined that Betelgeuse is shrinking—in a big way. In the last 15 years it has lost 15% of its diameter! In the past the size of the star has usually ranged between the diameters of the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, but now it unexplainably has shrunk to the size of the orbit of Venus. Although its size is now smaller, its brightness, oddly enough, did not diminish in the process. In addition, an unusual, large red spot has recently appeared on the star’s surface.1
All this could be a precursor to it going supernova, when it finally runs out of thermonuclear fuel and ends its 8.5-million-year-old life in a massive explosion. This star would thus become the most luminous object in our sky, much more so than our full Moon. It could even rate as the brightest supernova in history, outstripping those that the Perisans, Arabs, Chinese, Native Americans and others recorded both in 1006 AD and in 1054 AD.2. If Betelgeuse indeed turns into a supernova, it would be visible even during the day and would remain in the night sky for months or even years before fading away—the right shoulder of Orion sadly vanished forever.
Another possible scenario exists: Betelgeuse may have already gone supernova, but we just don’t know it yet because its light has not reached us! Scientists have not precisely determined how far the star is from us, although the commonly accepted distance is 430 light-years. New measurements taken last year, however, increased the distance to 640 light-years.3 Let’s take a look at these figures.
Suppose we say that the light from the supernova will reach us sometime during 2012, as alternative science researcher Richard C. Hoagland has suggested.4 The date just three years in the future is, of course, the much-debated end of the current cycle of the Mayan Calendar. It is significant that Betelgeuse achieves midnight culmination (or highest point in the sky when the star crosses the observer’s meridian) each December 21st, the winter solstice—the exact date of the calendar’s conclusion.5
Click the link to read the whole article.
http://www.theorionzone.com/betelgeuse_supernova_2012.pdf
Love and Light.
David
Seeing Red: Will Betelgeuse Go Supernova in 2012?
Gary A. David
www.theorionzone.com
Redshifting Into the Future
Fierce Orion raises his right arm that holds a warriors’ club, ready to strike down his foes. The red supergiant star Betelgeuse (pronounced "beetle juice"), also known as Alpha Orionis, forms his right shoulder. Because of its deep orange or topaz hue, it is called the Martial Star.
Betelgeuse’s diameter is 8oo times larger than our Sun, and its mass is 20 times greater. It is the 11th brightest star in the heavens, but because it is an irregularly pulsating star called a Mira Variable, its size and magnitude changes. At times its diameter equals that of the orbit of Mars, while at other times its diameter is the same size as the orbit of Jupiter. The magnitude of Betelgeuse also varies. Periodically it becomes slightly more brilliant than Rigel, Orion’s left knee and the eighth brightest star in the sky. Then for no reason it can reduce in luminosity to approximately the same as Bellatrix, Orion’s other shoulder and only the 27th brightest star in the heavens. Clearly Betelgeuse is not a stable stellar object.
1
Astronomers have recently determined that Betelgeuse is shrinking—in a big way. In the last 15 years it has lost 15% of its diameter! In the past the size of the star has usually ranged between the diameters of the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, but now it unexplainably has shrunk to the size of the orbit of Venus. Although its size is now smaller, its brightness, oddly enough, did not diminish in the process. In addition, an unusual, large red spot has recently appeared on the star’s surface.1
All this could be a precursor to it going supernova, when it finally runs out of thermonuclear fuel and ends its 8.5-million-year-old life in a massive explosion. This star would thus become the most luminous object in our sky, much more so than our full Moon. It could even rate as the brightest supernova in history, outstripping those that the Perisans, Arabs, Chinese, Native Americans and others recorded both in 1006 AD and in 1054 AD.2. If Betelgeuse indeed turns into a supernova, it would be visible even during the day and would remain in the night sky for months or even years before fading away—the right shoulder of Orion sadly vanished forever.
Another possible scenario exists: Betelgeuse may have already gone supernova, but we just don’t know it yet because its light has not reached us! Scientists have not precisely determined how far the star is from us, although the commonly accepted distance is 430 light-years. New measurements taken last year, however, increased the distance to 640 light-years.3 Let’s take a look at these figures.
Suppose we say that the light from the supernova will reach us sometime during 2012, as alternative science researcher Richard C. Hoagland has suggested.4 The date just three years in the future is, of course, the much-debated end of the current cycle of the Mayan Calendar. It is significant that Betelgeuse achieves midnight culmination (or highest point in the sky when the star crosses the observer’s meridian) each December 21st, the winter solstice—the exact date of the calendar’s conclusion.5
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