A red giant star that’s living fast
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A red giant star that is visible with the naked eye is heading towards the supernova stage well before its time.
A recent article in Space.com; Clearest-Ever Image of Betelgeuse Reveals Mysteries of the Red Giant – has highlighted the development of a relatively youthful star that has reached the red giant stage already. (Space.com, 2018)
Stars generally go through a familiar life-cycle, from main sequence star → red giant → white dwarf → black dwarf. This life-cycle generally takes billions of years to complete. Our own sun is 4.5 billion years old and is set to be in a stable main sequence pattern for billions of years more.
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However, the Betelgeuse star, which is 600 light years from earth, is only 8 million years old, and has a diameter 700 times to that of our own sun. If the red giant was to be placed where our sun is, it would absorb all of the planets up to Jupiter. (Space.com, 2017)
Due to its unusual ability to quickly burn matter and release gases, it emits an unusual red glow, which is visible to the naked eye. The red light emitted from this supermassive red giant can be spotted sitting on the right shoulder of the constellation Orion (Space.com, 2017).
The images of the supermassive red giant have been captured by the ALMA telescope in the Atacama desert – which is part of the Southern European Observatory. The sensitivity of the ALMA telescope allows for astrophysicist to observe the uneven surface of the supermassive red giant as it releases enormous plumes of gas and matter. The life expectancy of this fast burning star is likely to be fairly short and the supernova – when it happens – will be visible from earth. Although we will be waiting millions of years, the death of the star will be seen by future generations on Earth.
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