Joined: Jun 2017 Posts: 3,752RedOneAlpha
Senior Member
RedOneAlpha
Senior Member
Joined: Jun 2017
Posts: 3,752
LEGE
I recently got into astronomy and with it, doing all the learning on the subject, aswell as with scopes and gear, bought my first achromat refractor scope last month. It really fascinates me
Which brings me to this post and the talk lately that Betelgeuse might go supernova. Betelgeuse is the brightest star of the Orion constellation, forming Orion´s shoulder and part of the winter triangle, or winter hexagon (Betelgeuse, Sirius and Procyon). All three from three different constellations, Betelgeuse in Orion, Sirius in Canis Mayor, and Procyon in Canis Minor.
Betelgeuse is a reddish-orange supergiant around 1400 times larger then the mass of our sun, and the 9th brightest star. It´s 650 light years from earth.
A explanation of why it might not go supernova as some say, or wish to...
Anyhow, thought it might be of interest to some here.
Red
Win10 Pro(x64), i7 8700k @ 4.7Ghz, 32GB ram DDR4, Sapphire Pulse AMD RX 6700 12GB, M.2 PCIe NVMe (x2) 480GB + 960GB, 447GB SSD´s, Samsung G6 32" , Logitech G13, G502, Warthog HOTAS, CH Pedals, Simagic Alpha Mini, and Formula Extreme FX, DC Simracing DC1 pedals, GT Omega ART cockpit, TrackIR 5.0. AUDIO: Aiyima A07 Max, Topping E50 and L50 stack, Polk Audio Signature Elite ES20 , and Shennheiser HD 560s. DAP: Hiby R3, Hiby Seeds, and iBasso IT01, Sharp MD-MT 80H Minidisc.
I was just pointing this out to my kids the other night. I dragged them out to look at the constellation. They were less than impressed... Maybe if it blows in their lifetimes, they will at least remember that the conversation occured?
The older I get, the more I realize I don't need to be Han, Luke or Leia. I'm just happy to be rebel scum...
Whoa whoa whoa, Red, one minor correction to your post--Betelgeuse is only ~twelve solar masses, or twelve times the mass of our sun, not fourteen hundred. Even VY Canis Majoris, one of the largest known star is around 17 solar masses. I think you meant to say 1400 times the diameter, but it is closer to 700 or 800 times. VY Canis Majoris is closer to 1400. If their mass was that much they would have imploded long ago and the ensuing black hole would be quite scary.
Astronomy has always been a passion of mine so I had to speak up.
Would be neat if Betelgeuse went supernova, but it'd permanently alter the constellation Orion.
Joined: Jun 2017 Posts: 3,752RedOneAlpha
Senior Member
RedOneAlpha
Senior Member
Joined: Jun 2017
Posts: 3,752
LEGE
Originally Posted by Mr_Blastman
Whoa whoa whoa, Red, one minor correction to your post--Betelgeuse is only ~twelve solar masses, or twelve times the mass of our sun, not fourteen hundred. Even VY Canis Majoris, one of the largest known star is around 17 solar masses. I think you meant to say 1400 times the diameter, but it is closer to 700 or 800 times. VY Canis Majoris is closer to 1400. If their mass was that much they would have imploded long ago and the ensuing black hole would be quite scary.
Astronomy has always been a passion of mine so I had to speak up.
Would be neat if Betelgeuse went supernova, but it'd permanently alter the constellation Orion.
Measurements are all over the place on the web, so it´s kind of hard to tell who´s right or wrong. Some varie as much as 20 light years! Yeah almost nothing
Glad to know someone here likes the subject. I just got started a month ago and my first night session four days ago got me hooked! Had to get new EP´s and tripod so could not get out sooner. Learning alot over at the Cloudy Nights forum, and with time would like to get into astro photography, "ouch".
Red
Win10 Pro(x64), i7 8700k @ 4.7Ghz, 32GB ram DDR4, Sapphire Pulse AMD RX 6700 12GB, M.2 PCIe NVMe (x2) 480GB + 960GB, 447GB SSD´s, Samsung G6 32" , Logitech G13, G502, Warthog HOTAS, CH Pedals, Simagic Alpha Mini, and Formula Extreme FX, DC Simracing DC1 pedals, GT Omega ART cockpit, TrackIR 5.0. AUDIO: Aiyima A07 Max, Topping E50 and L50 stack, Polk Audio Signature Elite ES20 , and Shennheiser HD 560s. DAP: Hiby R3, Hiby Seeds, and iBasso IT01, Sharp MD-MT 80H Minidisc.
Another minor correction, Rigel is usually considered the brightest star in the Orion constellation, even though with both Betelgeuse and Rigel being variable stars, there are times when B. appears indeed brighter than R.. Rigel may be in itself an interesting object for observation, considering that it is a multi-star system, and the Witch Head nubula nearby.
Here in Belgium the skies are so light polluted that only the brightest stars shine through it makes studying the stars an object lesson in frustration.
Chlanna nan con thigibh a so's gheibh sibh feoil Sons of the hound come here and get flesh Clan Cameron
Joined: Apr 2001 Posts: 121,390PanzerMeyer
Pro-Consul of Florida
PanzerMeyer
Pro-Consul of Florida
King Crimson - SimHQ's Top Poster
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 121,390
Miami, FL USA
Originally Posted by Rick_Rawlings
I was just pointing this out to my kids the other night. I dragged them out to look at the constellation. They were less than impressed... Maybe if it blows in their lifetimes, they will at least remember that the conversation occured?
It's not just your kids but the overall mainstream population as well. Astronomy is largely boring to them unless something very big occurs which can be seen with the naked eye. This is why so many of these astronomy web blog and/or official articles are sensationalized and hyped up. They need to be that way in order to garner any attention from readers.
“Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.”
Joined: Jun 2017 Posts: 3,752RedOneAlpha
Senior Member
RedOneAlpha
Senior Member
Joined: Jun 2017
Posts: 3,752
LEGE
Originally Posted by Alicatt
From about 12 years ago, I was mucking around with a CCTV security camera looking at M42 the Great Nebula in Orion.
Here in Belgium the skies are so light polluted that only the brightest stars shine through it makes studying the stars an object lesson in frustration.
Nice!
Do light pollution filters work for you?
On a second though, you guys have some serious light pollution problems! Light Pollution Map
Red
Win10 Pro(x64), i7 8700k @ 4.7Ghz, 32GB ram DDR4, Sapphire Pulse AMD RX 6700 12GB, M.2 PCIe NVMe (x2) 480GB + 960GB, 447GB SSD´s, Samsung G6 32" , Logitech G13, G502, Warthog HOTAS, CH Pedals, Simagic Alpha Mini, and Formula Extreme FX, DC Simracing DC1 pedals, GT Omega ART cockpit, TrackIR 5.0. AUDIO: Aiyima A07 Max, Topping E50 and L50 stack, Polk Audio Signature Elite ES20 , and Shennheiser HD 560s. DAP: Hiby R3, Hiby Seeds, and iBasso IT01, Sharp MD-MT 80H Minidisc.
Betelgeuse, bah! So much talk about Betelgeuse. "It MAY go supernova in the next hundred years" or whatever. SO WHAT?? I'm getting SO tired of it all. You can hardly turn on the television or pick up a newspaper with hearing "Betelgeuse, Betelgeuse, Betelgeuse".
**FLASH**
Seriously though, it would be cool. I don't have a high-powered telescope but I do have a spotter's scope that the manages to show pretty good detail of craters on the moon and has a cell phone attachment. If it happens and the sky is clear you can bet I'll be outside looking for it.
One thing that blew my mind was not related to Betelgeuse, but Andromeda. If you know where it is, it just looks like a fuzzy star, but it's actually our closest galaxy outside of our own.
Thing is, what you see with the naked eye is just the central part of it where the star density is highest. If you could see the whole galaxy, it would be 4 times the size if a full moon.
When I say 4 times, I mean 4 moons lined up next to each other in a line.
"They might look the same, but they don't taste the same."
Joined: Apr 2001 Posts: 121,390PanzerMeyer
Pro-Consul of Florida
PanzerMeyer
Pro-Consul of Florida
King Crimson - SimHQ's Top Poster
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 121,390
Miami, FL USA
The Milky Way and Andromeda are projected to “collide” into each other in about 4.5 billion years. Who wants to host the SimHQ keg party to celebrate the event?
Last edited by PanzerMeyer; 02/17/2002:55 PM.
“Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.”
Joined: Jun 2017 Posts: 3,752RedOneAlpha
Senior Member
RedOneAlpha
Senior Member
Joined: Jun 2017
Posts: 3,752
LEGE
Originally Posted by PanzerMeyer
The Milky Way and Andromeda are projected to “collide” into each other in about 4.5 billion years. Who wants to host the SimHQ keg party to celebrate the event?
It is a very violent history above the more you know about it, but yeah sign me up for the keg party!
Red
Win10 Pro(x64), i7 8700k @ 4.7Ghz, 32GB ram DDR4, Sapphire Pulse AMD RX 6700 12GB, M.2 PCIe NVMe (x2) 480GB + 960GB, 447GB SSD´s, Samsung G6 32" , Logitech G13, G502, Warthog HOTAS, CH Pedals, Simagic Alpha Mini, and Formula Extreme FX, DC Simracing DC1 pedals, GT Omega ART cockpit, TrackIR 5.0. AUDIO: Aiyima A07 Max, Topping E50 and L50 stack, Polk Audio Signature Elite ES20 , and Shennheiser HD 560s. DAP: Hiby R3, Hiby Seeds, and iBasso IT01, Sharp MD-MT 80H Minidisc.
Here in Belgium the skies are so light polluted that only the brightest stars shine through it makes studying the stars an object lesson in frustration.
That's pretty rad you pulled that off with a CCTV camera.
Glad to know someone here likes the subject. I just got started a month ago and my first night session four days ago got me hooked! Had to get new EP´s and tripod so could not get out sooner. Learning alot over at the Cloudy Nights forum, and with time would like to get into astro photography, "ouch".
Blame my Dad. Wee early in 1980 he bought me a copy of National Geographic's "Our Universe" when I was five years old. I read that book cover to cover many times and memorized most of the facts and figures. It told of so much more than simply stars and planets, but told a tale of the formation and creation and expansion of our entire Universe, and alien worlds and places and of Gods and Deities and celestial experiments and ventures. There, my passion for Astronomy, Physics and Astrobiology was born.
I'm not alone, either. Although I've mentioned this book likely here before, my brother read it much the same, so much so that the spine of the book eventually fell off and the pages fell out. Reading this book will change your life, and despite being so old, much of what was spoken of within those pages is still relevant, now.
From about 12 years ago, I was mucking around with a CCTV security camera looking at M42 the Great Nebula in Orion.
Here in Belgium the skies are so light polluted that only the brightest stars shine through it makes studying the stars an object lesson in frustration.
Nice!
Do light pollution filters work for you?
On a second though, you guys have some serious light pollution problems! Light Pollution Map
Red
Yeah it is serious here, after coming from the far north of Scotland I really miss the dark skies, here it is a good orange cast to everything
First pic is of my telescope, 10" Meade LX200R normally it is on a tripod with an equatorial mount (wedge) but since my operation to my arm I can hardly lift the darn thing, my son made a little trolley to roll it around on which helps. second pic is from my old house in Scotland of Orion.
Chlanna nan con thigibh a so's gheibh sibh feoil Sons of the hound come here and get flesh Clan Cameron