Second Sun

busyliving

I was just Stumbling and came across an article about one of the Stars in the Orion constellation going SuperNova and it could burn so bright that it could look like we will have second Sun...In 2012:eek:

I've done a quick google and all I've found is newspaper article from around January to March about the possible second sun...

Nothing really about how likely it really is or more importantly, if very likely...When will it happen

Has there been any more news on this possible event

Ellis Dee

I've done a bit of Googling as well and found nothing tangible. My own view is that a supernova is even more difficult to predict than an earthquake. :cool:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supernova

Sad Professor

This comes up a lot. The star in question is Betelgeuse and nobody knows when it will go supernova. It could be tomorrow, it could be in a million years.

slade_x

Sad Professor wrote: »

This comes up a lot. The star in question is Betelgeuse and nobody knows when it will go supernova. It could be tomorrow, it could be in a million years.

Or it could have been in the last few hundred years and we just have to wait

Beeker

As said above noone knows when this will happen only that it will. The whole 2012 thing is just the idiots who believe in the bull**it about the end of the world.............oh Zeus help us:D

namloc1980

slade_x wrote: »

Or it could have been in the last few hundred years and we just have to wait

Betelgeuse is c.640 light years away so if it goes supernova in 2012 it actually would have done so in 1372 (from our time point of view).

Myrddin

Sad Professor wrote: »

This comes up a lot. The star in question is Betelgeuse and nobody knows when it will go supernova. It could be tomorrow, it could be in a million years.

I was watching Wonders Of The Universe the other night, & apparently like you said, nobody really knows when it will go Nova. However it was mentioned that it's got 15% dimmer over the last ten years...what that means fro ma stellar point of view I've no idea but its a fairly rapid change in such a short time

Conor108

On the one hand I think it'll be really cool and hope it happens soon:) On the other hand if it randomly goes supernova next year, the 2012 wackos will see it as some kind of confirmation for the whole 2012 thing.

So hopefully sometime in the next 3 weeks:D

tuxy

Some places reporting this like to put a tabloid slant on it. They use scientific info but use it out of context. Large stars like Betelgeuse have shorter life spans of a couple of million years. Betelgeuse seems to be nearing the end of it's life and it is large enough to go supernova. (unlike our sun which is too small to ever go supernova)
But nearing the end of it's life for a star could mean it's possible that it has another million years left, it's impossible for us to calculate more accurately using current techniques.

As for it's luminosity if it were to go supernova. I'm not sure but it may be as bright as the moon making it just possible to see during the day and of course easy to see at night. Not really like having a second sun at all.

Conor108 wrote: »

On the one hand I think it'll be really cool and hope it happens soon:) On the other hand if it randomly goes supernova next year, the 2012 wackos will see it as some kind of confirmation for the whole 2012 thing.

So hopefully sometime in the next 3 weeks:D

It would be an amazing event but I would miss Betelgeuse if it were to happen in our life time, it's easily the best example of a red supergiant to view in the night sky.

_blank_

Is it one of the three in the belt?

How long does a supernova last for, in the sky? Weeks? Months? Years?

Be pretty weird after it's finished to look up and see only two left of the three in the belt, quite sad actually.

Plug

Des wrote: »

Is it one of the three in the belt?

How long does a supernova last for, in the sky? Weeks? Months? Years?

Be pretty weird after it's finished to look up and see only two left of the three in the belt, quite sad actually.

If you look up you'll see a redish star at the top left of them three. Thats it. it would probably last a few months is all.

Captain Chaos

Des wrote: »

Is it one of the three in the belt?

How long does a supernova last for, in the sky? Weeks? Months? Years?
.

Not the three in the belt, it's the top left reddish star.

The supernova that created the Crab nebula was visible in 1054 and it lit up the night sky for about 3 weeks. It was said to be about 4 times brighter than Venus at it's brightest, some say as bright as the full moon but I think that is pushing it.

Calibos

You can get several different answers about the 'Brighter than the full moon' question depending on whether the person answering the question is talking about 'Apparent Magnitude' or 'Absolute Magnitude'

Eg. Say it happens and you look up and compare the two. You might say that the light from the supernova is more intense than the full moon and thus to your mind brighter. Ask an astronomer and he might say that the moon is brighter. The confusion comes because you are talking about apparent magnitude and he is talking about absolute magnitude. The headline absolute magnitude figure for the moon might indeed be a higher value than the supernova but its spread over the area of the full moon whereas the supernova absolute magnitude value might be lower than the full moon but its still a point source of light and thus it appears brighter....'apparently'

I'd imagine that the instensity of a Betelguese Supernova would be similar to the headlights of an airliner on approach to a runway at night if you've ever seen that. I live nowhere near the airport but when the wind is from the North the approach vector for aircraft coming into land at Dublin airport is from the South over Brayhead. Every 2 or 3 minutes another plane coming in low over Brayhead. Those headlights are bright!!

Trine

I remember when I first head of this I was amazed at the prospect of a "second sun" in our sky, but that seems unlikey from what you guys say.

But it made me think, that in the unlikely event of a supernova that did shine as brightly as the sun, wouldn't that have a massive impact on wildlife? Or even on crops/vegetation? There'd potentially be no day/night cycle?

Imagine living on an earth with constant day light. That would surely have an effect on us.

Captain Chaos

Trine wrote: »

I remember when I first head of this I was amazed at the prospect of a "second sun" in our sky, but that seems unlikey from what you guys say.

But it made me think, that in the unlikely event of a supernova that did shine as brightly as the sun, wouldn't that have a massive impact on wildlife? Or even on crops/vegetation? There'd potentially be no day/night cycle?

Imagine living on an earth with constant day light. That would surely have an effect on us.

That would depend on where in the sky the supernova happens. It could be northern or southern hemisphere so only half the planet would ever see it. Also the supernova and sun could be in the same part of the sky so you could still get normal days and nights. There is alot of variables at play.

Cú Giobach

Trine wrote: »

But it made me think, that in the unlikely event of a supernova that did shine as brightly as the sun, wouldn't that have a massive impact on wildlife? Or even on crops/vegetation? There'd potentially be no day/night cycle?

Imagine living on an earth with constant day light. That would surely have an effect on us.

If a supernova was close enough to be as bright as the sun the last thing you would be worrying about is the visible light.
The x-rays and gamma-rays would destroy the atmosphere and fry every living thing on the surface, it wouldn't be just an extinction event it would be a very effective sterilization of the surface of the planet.
I think the general consensus is anything closer than about 300 light years would be quite dangerous. Fortunately there are no candidates that close to be worrying about.