Astronomers are continuing to record the strange dimming of one of the most well-known stars in the night sky.
Betelguese, in the constellation of Orion, started exhibiting some strange behaviour towards the end of last year.
Astronomers noticed it was getting fainter and this led to speculation it could explode in a fiery supernova that would be visible from Earth even though Betelguese is 700 light years away.
Following the dimming last year, astronomers trained the European Southern Observatory (ESO) Very Large Telescope array in Chile to get a closer look. They have confirmed in much greater detail the level of dimming present in the star.
Betelguese is a red supergiant star and if it were to go supernova, we would see it from Earth during both daytime and night where it would appear as bright as the moon. However, astronomers say this could just as likely happen in 100,000 years as it could tomorrow.
Betelgeuse will explode – it’s just a matter of when – it’s at the end of its life and is due to end in a supernova event, astronomer Dave Eagle explained.
‘The statistical likelihood of this event occurring during your 90 (give or a take a few years) year lifetime is extremely small,’ he said.
Meanwhile, science writer Jason Major, said it is unlikely to happen but speculated about the idea of a nearby supernova for scientists is like ‘imagining what you’d do with the money if you won the lottery’.
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