# Betelgeuse losing brightness **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 27, 2019, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/betelgeuse-losing-brightness/845478 "2019-12-27T23:34:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2022, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/betelgeuse-losing-brightness/845478/142 "2022-08-13T23:31:38Z")
There is observed data on the temperature at the surface and as a function of distance; what I meant was, we know it is thousands of degrees even at a dozen AU from the star; but a really tenuous “red hot” plasma would not toast you _that_ much, especially if you were standing on the surface of a decent planet. So, loosely phrased, how close could you get to Betelgeuse (in your space suit, let’s say)? ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2023, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/betelgeuse-losing-brightness/845478/143 "2023-05-26T19:50:12Z")
> **[The most fascinating star in our sky inches closer to exploding](https://mashable.com/article/betelgeuse-supernova-when-explode)** > > Whenever it happens, it will be astonishing. > **[‘It’s new territory’: why is Betelgeuse glowing so brightly and behaving so...](https://www.theguardian.com/science/2023/may/26/its-new-territory-why-is-betelgeuse-is-glowing-so-brightly-and-behaving-so-strangely)** > > After the ‘great dimming’, the closest red giant star to Earth is pulsating twice as fast as usual and lighting up the southern hemisphere’s early evening sky ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2023, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/betelgeuse-losing-brightness/845478/144 "2023-05-26T23:35:19Z")
I love the Orion constellation but I gotta say I really hope Betelgeuse explodes in my lifetime. I know it is a real longshot but still hoping. (and I get it may have exploded and I have not seen it yet) ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2023, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/betelgeuse-losing-brightness/845478/145 "2023-05-26T23:45:12Z")
Yeah, bit of a time delay there – 642.5 years. Betelgeuse might already have exploded before the first voyage of Columbus, or when the Ming dynasty was still in its early stages, and we still wouldn’t see it yet. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2023, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/betelgeuse-losing-brightness/845478/146 "2023-05-27T00:17:26Z")
That thing we think of as Betelgeuse is actually the enemy fleet’s powerplant. The fluctuations we’re observing now are them modulating throttle as they begin the process of slowing for Solar System entry. You’ll notice they appear in a static location compared to the “fixed stars”. IOW, they’re heading straight for us. The really big flare comes as they fan out to envelop the Earth. I’d rather they wait at least a hundred years before they do that. I’d settle for 50 in a pinch, but many people I know will still be around then. Not so many in a hundred. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2023, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/betelgeuse-losing-brightness/845478/147 "2023-05-27T00:27:07Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > That thing we think of as Betelgeuse is actually the enemy fleet’s powerplant. The fluctuations we’re observing now are them modulating throttle as they begin the process of slowing for Solar System entry. What about the attack ships? You know, the ones off the shoulder of Orion. How do they figure into this? ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2023, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/betelgeuse-losing-brightness/845478/148 "2023-05-27T00:31:59Z")
Depends on where the Tannhäuser Gate is during this epoch. Holy glittering C-beams Deadman! ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2023, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/betelgeuse-losing-brightness/845478/149 "2023-05-27T01:16:11Z")
I can confidently state that we are now ten months closer to Betelgeuse’s supernova event than we were when this thread was last active. ---
**Author:** ![OldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3bc359/32.png) [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2023, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/betelgeuse-losing-brightness/845478/150 "2023-05-27T03:21:36Z")
Not necessarily. If it happened say two years ago, we’d not see it yet, but now we’d be 10 months further from the time of teh event. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2023, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/betelgeuse-losing-brightness/845478/151 "2023-05-27T22:01:59Z")
And now he’s the Transportation Secretary, and the adoptive father of a twin boy and girl. (ba-dump) ---
**Author:** ![glowacks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/glowacks/32/5548_2.png) [@glowacks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glowacks)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2023, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/betelgeuse-losing-brightness/845478/152 "2023-05-30T02:15:06Z")
He said “we”, not “it”. While it’s quite possible that it’s ten months’ further from the supernova than when this thread started, we the inhabitants of Earth, are two months closer. It’s not just the case that light travels at finite speed - causality itself does. Thus, Betelgeuse does not explode for us until the effects of it exploding have reached us. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2023, 8:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/betelgeuse-losing-brightness/845478/153 "2023-12-09T08:11:52Z")
Totally different kind of dimming: > **[Asteroid to Cover Betelgeuse on December 12th (Updated: Livestream Link)](https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-news/asteroid-will-cover-betelgeuse-may-reveal-its-visible-surface/)** > > Astronomers are gearing up for an unusual celestial event: an asteroid’s occultation, or total covering, of an iconic star. In the US, it’ll only be visible from a narrow path across south Florida. The path will also go across parts of southern Europe. Map at the linked article. Onew thing is that the asteroid in question (Leona) is about the same size as viewed from Earth as the star. Betelgeuse is so big that it is not a point source, even though it’s around 550 light years away. Anyway, the occultation may be like an annular eclipse of the Sun, where the Sun shows around the edges of the Moon throughout the entire event. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2023, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/betelgeuse-losing-brightness/845478/154 "2023-12-09T22:05:19Z")
Ooh, nice, we’ll be able to learn a lot about both Betelgeuse and the asteroid from this. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2023, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/betelgeuse-losing-brightness/845478/155 "2023-12-09T22:22:05Z")
Looks like I’m about 20 miles outside the edge of the occlusion path. So can’t quite just go out on the balcony and watch at the appointed minute. But for sure I’m a lot closer than nearly all other Americans. We have so much light pollution around here that even Betelgeuse can be hard to see. Plus clouds of course. If weather the night prior and the day of is looking good I might make a run to a suitable viewing spot. By eye it’ll just be a blink of a star. But that’s still a pretty cool coincidence, and not something I’ve ever seen. I just hope after that after that one winks out, it promptly comes back instead of then the other ones going out in turn. That would be bad. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2023, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/betelgeuse-losing-brightness/845478/156 "2023-12-09T23:37:14Z")
Don’t worry about it. I’ve only printed a little over 8 billion names so far. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2023, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/betelgeuse-losing-brightness/845478/157 "2023-12-10T03:09:01Z")
Faster, faster! ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2023, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/betelgeuse-losing-brightness/845478/158 "2023-12-10T03:14:07Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Looks like I’m about 20 miles outside the edge of the occlusion path. So can’t quite just go out on the balcony and watch at the appointed minute. But for sure I’m a lot closer than nearly all other Americans. > > We have so much light pollution around here that even Betelgeuse can be hard to see. Plus clouds of course. IIRC you are in Florida (vague memory…I might be very wrong). If so, there are some dark sky parks in your state. Not sure if any are close to you though. - [Dark Sky Parks in FL](https://www.go-astronomy.com/dark-sky-parks-stargazing-state.php?State=FL) (If not in Florida you can noodle around at the site linked above to find one close to you.) ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2023, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/betelgeuse-losing-brightness/845478/159 "2023-12-10T03:58:17Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > IIRC you are in Florida (vague memory…I might be very wrong). You remember rightly. On the coast but in the middle of the Great Miami Bortle 8 Light Pollution Blob o’ Major Washout. The problem with southern Florida is it’s either solid suburbia, or trackless swamp with no roads. And the cities are big enough that even the center of the vast nothingness of the Everglades isn’t that far from well-lit suburbia. Add in an atmosphere with lots of salt and humidity, and the end result is that seeing is rarely great. If I had an ocean-capable boat I could head out 50 miles and it’d be absolutely, positively, no-shit _dark_. Not here though. Even the dark parks nearish (\<100 miles) from here aren’t very dark. And unlike a solar or lunar eclipse, the path of “totality” for the occlusion is very narrow, barely 30 miles wide. A boat is the answer. But thank you for a cool link; I’ll be digging into it more tomorrow, both for here and for other places I’ve lived. ---
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2023, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/betelgeuse-losing-brightness/845478/160 "2023-12-10T17:34:06Z")
I’m wondering if any station or streaming site will cover this live, like they do for solar eclipses. Is this on the NASA channel perhaps? I suppose someone will upload a video to YouTube later. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2023, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/betelgeuse-losing-brightness/845478/161 "2023-12-10T21:58:54Z")
With all the interest in whether or not Betelgeuse is supernovaing as we speak, this would get a lot of views. Added bonus is that telescopes can resolve Betelgeuse’s disk. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/betelgeuse-losing-brightness/845478.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/betelgeuse-losing-brightness/845478.md?page=9)