Back at the end of 2019, Betelgeuse, the Red Supergent who constitutes the shoulder of the Orion constellation, started to darken abruptly. Initially, some astronomers thought the star was dying and it was about to explode in a supernova, but it never happened. Instead, Betelgeuse has returned to its normal brightness.
In a new document published in nature, scientists say that the “great gradation” of Betelgeuse was caused partly by a gas bubble ejected by the star. Using the very large telescope (VLT) in Chile, Miguel Montargès of the Paris Observatory, from France and his team analyzed images of red supergiant.
“Our general idea is that there was a cool spot on the star which, because of the local temperature drop, then the gas ejected previously to condense in the dust,” said one of the co-authors of The study, told the BBC. “Then, the cool spot on the surface would initially make the star to the lowest dimmer. But this dust condensation would add to the quick drop of the brightness of the star.”
Unfortunately, for those who hope to see a supernova in their lifetime, the incident is not considered a basis of indication beteller is close to the end of its life. When you talk in cosmic terms, it’s something that could be dozens and even hundreds of thousands of years,
