Science Series #4: That's Super, Nova!

by Lily, Grade 8

Betelguese, a star that’s a part of the constellation Orion, has a possibility to explode into a supernova very soon.

Betelguese, not to be confused with the movie or Broadway show, is a supergiant star, the eleventh brightest in the night sky. From Earth, it can clearly be seen with the human eye (see the last paragraph for instructions), but soon it could be an even brighter light, one that we would be seeing for months due to a massive explosion in far-out space, about 640 light-years from the solar system.

What is a supernova?

When a star “goes Supernova”, it means that it will explode. Stars, like humans, have a life span. Betelguese is way bigger and more massive than the sun, so it has lived and glowed in the sky for 8-9 billion years. That’s not long compared to how long scientists think the earth will last, but age-old astronomers once looked up at the star not knowing what it was. Years later, we now know the behaviors of soon-to-go-Supernova stars.

Why would it explode?

A star emits light because of its nuclear energy. We might all recognize the word nuclear in terms of speaking about bombs and missiles, but nuclear energy actually happens in nature too. When atoms split, it creates heat and energy. A big star, which has tons and tons of atoms that are constantly splitting, will create a lot of that heat and light due to the nuclear energy that it creates and contains. But, like previously said, stars don’t live forever. As the star starts to run out of energy, more of its mass creeps down to the star’s core to supply more energy to keep the light alive, like another burst of energy. Once the core starts to have more and more and more mass, it gets too heavy. Even stars can’t continuously expand and grow denser, more massive, and bigger in size. Because there is so much mass in the star’s core, it explodes because there’s too much. This is a nova, but if Betelguese were to do this, then it would be even greater than a regular nova, therefore it is called a supernova.

How soon?

This star is estimated to supernova in the next billion years. Even though that seems like a million lifetimes, it is a short minute compared to the trillions, trillions, trillions, and trillions of years Earth is expected to live and thrive.

How do scientists know it will go Supernova?

After years of improved technology and knowledge in general, scientists now know the patterns and signs of the stars, including when one might turn into a nova (explosion), or possibly a supernova if the star is massive enough (a super explosion). One of the clues telling Earth that Betelguese might supernova itself is that since October, the glowing giant has begun dimming, a telltale sign.

What would it look like in the sky?

We would see the initial bright white flash if the explosion. Then, the light would grow brighter again, and would last weeks, maybe months, and would be about the same brightness as the moon, even though Betelgues is nowhere near the moon… Earth is much smaller than you think. And the energy of space is much more powerful than one could believe. That’s why this supernova would be monumental, and a pivotal moment in history.

How can you look at Betelguese at night?

The constellation Orion, A.K.A Orion the Hunter, looks like a body with arms holding a bow. His belt, 3 stars in a row at Orion’s waist, is an easy way to spot it. His right shoulder, the noticeably brightest star in the constellation, is Betelguese. So, next time you happen to be looking at the dark night sky, look the Orion and the bright, majestic, and magnificent star Betelguese before it explodes into a violent supernova somewhere deep in space.

“Orion the Hunter Now Easy to View.” EarthSky, earthsky.org/tonight/orion-rises-in-the-east-at-mid-evening.

Sources:

Patel, Neel V. “A Star Called Betelgeuse Might Be Ready to Explode into a Giant Supernova.” MIT Technology Review, MIT Technology Review, 2 Jan. 2020, www.technologyreview.com/s/615001/a-star-called-betelgeuse-might-be-ready-to-explode-into-a-giant-supernova/.

“How Much Bigger Is Betelgeuse than the Sun?” Quora, www.quora.com/How-much-bigger-is-Betelgeuse-than-the-sun.

May, Sandra. “What Is a Supernova?” NASA, NASA, 1 June 2015, www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/5-8/features/nasa-knows/what-is-a-supernova.html.

“Nuclear Energy - How Energy Works.” Duke Energy, www.duke-energy.com/energy-education/how-energy-works/nuclear-power.

“What Will It Look Like When Betelgeuse Goes Supernova? (4K UHD).” YouTube, YouTube, 6 Dec. 2018, www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJPVuSNFxlY.

Sokol, Joshua. “What If History's Brightest Supernova Exploded In Earth's Backyard?” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 15 Jan. 2016, www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2016/01/rare-supernova-crab-nebula/424125/.