Betelgeuse: Difference between revisions

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With a radius between 640 and 764 times that of the Sun,<ref name="mittag">{{Citation |last1=Mittag |first1=M. |last2=Schröder |first2=K. -P. |last3=Perdelwitz |first3=V. |last4=Jack |first4=D. |last5=Schmitt |first5=J. H. M. M. |date=2023-01-01 |title=Chromospheric activity and photospheric variation of α Ori during the great dimming event in 2020 |bibcode=2023A&A...669A...9M |journal=Astronomy and Astrophysics |volume=669 |pages=A9 |doi=10.1051/0004-6361/202244924 |issn=0004-6361|arxiv=2211.04967 }}</ref><ref name=joyce2020/> if it were at the center of our [[Solar System]], its surface would lie beyond the [[asteroid belt]] and it would engulf the [[orbit]]s of [[Mercury (planet)|Mercury]], [[Venus]], [[Earth]], and [[Mars]]. Calculations of Betelgeuse's mass range from slightly under ten to a little over twenty times that of the [[Sun]]. For [[#Distance measurements|various reasons]], its distance has been quite difficult to measure; current best estimates are of the order of 400–600&nbsp;[[light-year]]s from the Sun{{snd}}a comparatively wide uncertainty for a relatively nearby star. Its [[absolute magnitude]] is about −6. With an age of less than 10&nbsp;million years, Betelgeuse has evolved rapidly because of its large mass, and is expected to end its evolution with a [[supernova]] explosion, most likely within 100,000&nbsp;years. When Betelgeuse explodes, it will shine as bright as the [[Lunar phase|half-Moon]] for more than three months; life on Earth will be unharmed. Having been ejected from its birthplace in the [[Orion OB1 association]]{{snd}}which includes the stars in [[Orion's Belt]]{{snd}}this [[runaway star]] has been observed to be moving through the [[interstellar medium]] at a speed of {{val|30|u=km/s}}, creating a [[Bow shocks in astrophysics|bow shock]] over four light-years wide.