All About The Dimming Red Giant Star

Space.com

Facts about the red giant star and where to find it are explained by Space.com's Chelsea Gohd. [Betelgeuse: The Eventual Supernova]  Credit: Space.com / produced & edited by Steve  / Chelsea Gohd / Judi Stroh

Transcript

00:00Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice.

00:03No, I'm not talking about the ghoulish star of the hit film from 1988.

00:08I'm talking about the other Beetlejuice star.

00:17Beetlejuice is one of the brightest stars in our night sky.

00:21It's relatively close to Earth at just 642.5 light years away.

00:27And it's seriously massive, about 20 times the mass of our Sun.

00:33Astronomers have been observing the star for decades,

00:36but while observing the star in late 2019,

00:39some astronomers noticed that it was seriously dimming and fast.

00:44Now, every star will one day die in a fiery explosion known as a supernova.

00:49And being approximately 8.5 million years old,

00:53some astronomers thought that Beetlejuice,

00:55a star with a life expectancy of about 9 million years,

00:58might just be dimming in preparation for its demise.

01:02However, in speaking with scientists and astronomers about the star's strange behavior,

01:07it seems as though it's likely that Beetlejuice isn't preparing for its fiery end.

01:12It could just be going through an especially dim period.

01:16In fact, many astronomers think that Beetlejuice might not explode for another 100,000 years.

01:22Still, whether or not Beetlejuice is preparing to go supernova,

01:26astronomers and sky watchers all over the globe suggest that people still look up

01:31to observe the star as it goes through these strange changes.

01:35So, how can you spot Beetlejuice in the night sky?

01:39Well, if you live in the Northern Hemisphere, look south.

01:42And vice versa, if you live in the Southern Hemisphere, look north.

01:45And you'll see the constellation Orion.

01:48On the upper left of the constellation, right at Orion's shoulder,

01:52you should be able to spot an orange-reddish star.

01:55That's Beetlejuice.

01:57So, whether the famous star goes supernova tonight, tomorrow, or in 100,000 years,

02:04it's always fun to watch it glow and dim in the night sky.

02:08With space.com, I'm Chelsea Goad.

02:12Stay tuned right here to keep up to date with all things space

02:16and to see whether or not this strange star will explode.

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