The star is relatively nearby at just 642 light-years away, and exists as an enormous red supergiant star. If it were placed in the centre of our Solar System, its outer surface could stretch to around the orbit of Jupiter. This Herculean size is due to an imbalance within the star’s interior. Towards the end of any star’s life, a lifetime of nuclear fusion – the process in which hydrogen fuses into helium within a stellar core and releases energy – has inevitably depleted the hydrogen fuel source that keeps the fire burning. This results in overpowering gravity putting strain on the core, which is experiencing a depleting radiation pressure output. This ignites nuclear fusion in the outer layers of the star, and the core then begins to convert helium into heavier elements such as carbon, oxygen and so on. The resultant radiation pressure within Betelgeuse’s outer layers has pushed the surface of the star outwards, bloating it into its current supergiant status.
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Denne historien er fra Issue 109-utgaven av All About Space.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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15 AUTUMN STARGAZING TARGETS
Go on a night-sky treasure hunt as the brighter evenings give way to the cooler months
MYSTERIES OF THE UNIVERSE WHY IS VENUS SO DRY?
A new study reckons the answer lies high in the Venusian atmosphere
WHEN BLACK HOLES TURN WHITE
Can bouncing black holes help physicists find the ultimate theory of everything?
THE MOON'S THIN ATMOSPHERE IS MADE BY CONSTANT METEORITE BOMBARDMENT
While the solar wind also contributes to the atmosphere, meteorites are the main culprit
INTERSTELLAR TRAVEL AND HOW TO BECOME A SPACE TOURIST
Having explored much of the Solar System, attention is now turning to the stars beyond
NASA'S PERSEVERANCE ROVER FINDS POSSIBLE SIGNS OF ANCIENT RED PLANET LIFE
Further analysis is needed, but a rock contains potential evidence that life once existed on Mars in the distant past
A NASA TELESCOPE MAY HAVE FOUND ANTIMATTER ANNIHILATING IN POSSIBLY THE BIGGEST EXPLOSION SINCE THE BIG BANG
The massive explosion was captured in 2022
Jameel Janjua "This is how we get to Mach 3”
Jameel Janjua made it to the bitter end in a Canadian government astronaut selection in 2009, but wasn't chosen. He found a different path to space through Virgin Galactic
BOEING NEEDS TO IMPROVE QUALITY CONTROL ON THE SLS MOON ROCKET
The NASA Inspector General's report finds serious quality-control issues affecting the upgraded version and expects cost overruns and delays
DARK ENERGY
THE MOST DOMINANT FORCE IN THE UNIVERSE IS ALSO ITS MOST MYSTERIOUS AND MOST UNANTICIPATED