What will happen to the Earth if Betelgeuse goes supernova?
Betelgeuse, which shines in Orion as part of the Winter Triangle, is a huge, short-lived star that is thought to soon end its life as a supernova explosion. It is unclear whether that will happen tomorrow or 10,000 years from now, but if Betelgeuse were to come to a dramatic end soon, the non-profit astronomy news website Universe Today explained how it would affect the Earth.
What Will the Betelgeuse Supernova Be Like - And Will It Hurt Us? - Universe Today
Betelgeuse, which is located about 500 light years from Earth, quite close in the cosmic scale, is a red giant star that is about 15 to 20 times as massive as the Sun. If it were in the same position as the Sun, it would swallow up the orbit of Mars.
Generally, massive stars have a short lifespan, lasting at most a few million years and at least a few hundred thousand years, depending on factors such as their mass, metallicity, and rotation speed. And Betelgeuse is clearly nearing the end of its lifespan.
In December 2019, Betelgeuse's brightness dropped by half, sparking speculation that this was a sign of a supernova explosion. Since then, Betelgeuse has regained its brightness, but there is no doubt that something is happening, as there are changes in the period of its brightness fluctuations.
Research results show that the red supergiant star 'Betelgeuse' shining on Orion's right shoulder has changed its brightness fluctuation period since it became dark in 2019 - GIGAZINE
By Stuart Rankin
According to Universe Today, dying stars undergo rapid changes, sometimes appearing stable and then suddenly changing. In massive stars, the distance between the center and the outer edge makes the internal modulations more complex.
Regarding what is happening with Betelgeuse, Universe Today said, 'Based on Betelgeuse's mass, rotation speed, the group of stars it belongs to, and the amount of metal on its surface, it is estimated that Betelgeuse will explode as a supernova hundreds of thousands of years from now, but it could happen tomorrow. Since it is 500 light years away, even if it exploded 100 years ago, it will not be immediately obvious. It may even be dead.'
If Betelgeuse's supernova explosion could be observed from Earth, it would be a huge spectacle. A typical supernova would be enough to illuminate an entire galaxy containing more than 100 billion stars, so the end of Betelgeuse, which is hundreds of light years away, would be a deeply moving experience.
Its glow will likely be visible during the day, and at night it will be as bright as the full moon, making it possible to read by starlight. However, unlike the moon, which looks like a disk in the sky, Betelgeuse's light is only the size of a pinpoint, so looking directly at it would hurt your eyes.
The less-than-elegant light will shine in Earth's sky for a few months, but while it's impressive, it's not dangerous, as Universe Today points out: Because Betelgeuse is 500 light-years away, even though it's close to Earth, only a small amount of the radiation released by the supernova will reach Earth.
by NASA Hubble Space Telescope
The phenomenon where the effect of a star decreases the further away it is from a light source is called the inverse square law , so if the distance is doubled, the effect is 25% (or a quarter), and if the distance is ten times greater, the effect is one hundredth. So even if Betelgeuse were to explode into an uncontrollable nuclear bomb with enough energy to overwhelm the brightness of all the stars in our galaxy, it would not have much of an impact on Earth.
Universe Today concluded, 'From our perspective, Betelgeuse will go from being a point of light in the night sky to a brighter point of light, but it will not pose a genuine threat.'
If Betelgeuse were to explode closer, even at a distance of 100 light years, it is believed that the number of cancer patients would increase sharply and marine life would die off in large numbers. For more details on what would happen to life on Earth and human civilization if a supernova explosion occurred closer to us, please read the following article.
What happens if a supernova explosion occurs near the Earth? - GIGAZINE
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