When Will Betelgeuse Explode?
Betelgeuse will not go quietly. It may not go soon, either.
One day, they say, Betelgeuse will explode. It promises to be spectacular: the star will detonate with the force of ten million suns; burning bright enough to be visible across half the known universe. From Earth it will appear to glow more intensely than the full moon; luminous enough to cast shadows at night and to shine through the midday sunlight.
Such things, of course, have happened before. Roughly twice a century, astronomers calculate, a star explodes somewhere in our galaxy. Yet most do so far away, and so their light is obscured by clouds of dust and gas, rendering them invisible to the human eye. Historical records speak of just four visible supernovae in the past millennium, the last of which erupted in 1604.
Few people, then, are lucky enough to see one. Even fewer will see one as bright as that promised by Betelgeuse, of which only one in recorded history, that of the year 1006, comes close. Records speak of a new star appearing at the end of March that year; burning strongly enough to be seen during the day and at night casting shadows on the ground. For months it shone, appearing brighter and larger than even Venus.
In those days, of course, observers knew little of what caused such “guest” stars to…
