Scientists reveal that Betelgeuse, one of the brightest stars in the sky changed colors. Read to know more about the phenomenon.
The brightest star in the night sky
While the Sun is a standard for us in terms of large stars, it pales in comparison to the larger stars in our Solar System. Betelgeuse is one such giant star with a massive size of over 14 times that of the Sun. The star is so huge that if it replaces the Sun at the center of our solar system, its outer surface would go past Jupiter’s orbit. Present, 700 lightyears away from Earth, scientists reveal that the giant red star changed color. Additionally, a 2,000-year-old Chinese test mentions the star. In 100 BCE, an astrologer in the court of the Han dynasty mentioned Betelgeuse in his records. However, the star was referred to be yellow.
Why is Betelguese changing colors?
It is important to know that the change of color is not for general amusement or a regular phenomenon. The change in color sheds more light on its lifetime. Betelgeuse is nearing the end of its life. (Phentermine) During its prime, it was fusing hydrogen into helium. However, as its hydrogen is depleting, it is red and fusing helium into oxygen and carbon. As the end, of its life nears, Betelgeuse will be exploding in a supernova. According to a recent study, researchers believe the event is 1.5 million years away.
“Betelgeuse continues doing some very unusual things right now; the interior is sort of bouncing,” stated Andrea Dupree. Dupree is from the Center for Astrophysics at Harvard & Smithsonian. “We’ve never before seen a huge mass ejection of the surface of a star. We are left with something going on that we don’t completely understand. It’s a totally new phenomenon that we can observe directly and resolve surface details with Hubble. We’re watching stellar evolution in real-time,” added Dupree.