The Betelgeuse is a red super giant star that is present at a distance of about 642 light years from us. This star is one of the 10 brightest stars in the sky. This star is so massive that if we place it in the center of our solar system, then the outer surface of it will touch the Jupiter planet.
The strangest thing about this star is that it is a pulsating and variable star which means that the light and shape of this star is changing very rapidly over time.
At present, the light of this star has decreased significantly and this is the first time, this star has gone out of the list of 10 brightest stars in the sky.
But this is not the first time the light of this star has fluctuated so much.
In the last few hundreds of years, the light of this star has decreased many times, and the last time when the light of this star decreased, it was much less than its present time.
ESO/M. Montargès et al. / CC BY
But this time the light of this star is fluctuating at a very fast pace, which has been seen for the first time.
This star is losing its mass and its outer layer at a very fast rate, due to which its brightness is decreasing and it is becoming red. Scientists have speculated that this star may have entered its pre-supernova phase, that means this star has fused all the hydrogen present in its core into helium and it has started fusing the helium into carbon.
This process takes about 100000 years. After that it will start fusing the carbon inside it into heavy elements which will take another 100 years. Perhaps this is why its core is much smaller than before and it is generating less energy. Scientists estimate that a supernova in this star can occur anytime between 100000 years from today. If this star is destroyed then its supernova will be quite huge and bright which we will be able to see for many days without the help of telescope.
This supernova explosion will be so luminous that it will look brighter than the stars, planets and moon in the sky for a few days.
