Tag

Variable Stars

All articles tagged with #variable stars

astronomy5 hours ago•19 min saved

Old Glass, New Skies: Mapping a Century of Cosmic Change

The article explains how astronomy blends modern time-domain surveys with century-old glass plates to trace cosmic changes over long timescales. By digitizing archives like Harvard’s DASCH and comparing them with new data from the Vera C. Rubin Observatory, researchers build a century-long view of variability—from supernovae and active galactic nuclei to variable stars—creating a “movie” of the sky while tackling challenges in data calibration and plate preservation.

via Quanta Magazine|

#astronomy #photographic-plates #rubin-observatory

astronomy2 years ago•2 min saved

Betelgeuse's Impending Supernova: A Bright and Explosive Event.

Betelgeuse, the seventh brightest star in the sky, located in the constellation of Orion, has exhibited unexpected behavior, leading to speculation about the possibility of an imminent explosive demise. If it were to become a supernova, it would shine with the same intensity as a full moon for six to twelve months and remain visible to the naked eye for another one or two years. However, there is no danger to us as it is located about 500 light-years away.

via Softonic EN|

#astronomy #betelgeuse #celestial-bodies

astronomy2 years ago•5 min saved

The Mysterious Behavior of Betelgeuse: Exploring its Possible Explosion.

Betelgeuse, a variable star, has shown unexpected behavior with a great dimming in 2020 and a subsequent extreme brightening. While Betelgeuse is expected to end its life in a supernova explosion, new models suggest this event could happen within a few thousand years or 1.5 million years into the future. If Betelgeuse does go supernova, it would first emit harmless neutrinos, then quickly brighten and remain visible in the day time for six to 12 months. While cosmic rays produced by supernovas can cause ozone destruction and dangerous UV levels on Earth, a close supernova is rare and may happen only once per billion years.

via Phys.org|

#astronomy #betelgeuse #cosmic-rays

astronomy2 years ago•5 min saved

The Mysterious Behavior of Betelgeuse: Is Its Final Countdown Approaching?

Betelgeuse, a variable star, has shown unexpected behaviour with a great dimming in 2019 and 2020 followed by an extreme brightening in 2021. While a supernova explosion is unlikely, astronomers are excited about the mysteries surrounding the star. If it were to go supernova, it would first emit harmless neutrinos followed by a brightening that would last for several months. While cosmic rays and radioactive iron could be produced, they would not pose a major threat to life on Earth unless the supernova were to occur within 30 light years.

via The Conversation Indonesia|

#astronomy #betelgeuse #cosmic-rays

astronomy2 years ago•1 min saved

Hubble Telescope Captures Stunning Images of Ancient Star Clusters

NASA's Hubble telescope captured a stunning image of the M55 star cluster, located 17,000 light-years away in the Sagittarius constellation. The cluster is made up of around 100,000 stars, with 55 of them being variable stars. Despite its relative brightness, it is difficult to observe from Earth due to its lack of a dense core and faint stars.

via Thrillist|

#astronomy #hubble-telescope #m55-star-cluster

space-science2 years ago•2 min saved

"Gaia seeks amateur astronomers to classify stars"

The European Space Agency's Gaia mission, which has been collecting data on millions of space objects, including stars, needs the help of amateur astronomers to classify variable stars. The Gaia Vari project, a citizen science initiative, allows volunteers to analyze images and graphs to classify stars' brightness changes, colors, and other variables over time. This will help scientists organize and categorize the millions of stars Gaia has observed, leading to the next Gaia data release in 2025.

via European Space Agency|

#astronomy #citizen-science #data-analysis