Guest Posted December 30, 2019 Share Posted December 30, 2019 I cannot remember where I saw this but it has faded quite noticeably recently. I happened to see Orion last night and it appeared fainter than Pollux but brighter than Bellatrix and Castor, suggesting a magnitude of 1.2 to 1.25. I think my eyes suffer from over-sensitivity to red light, so others might find it closer in brightness to Bellatrix and Castor than I do. Some have suggested that it might be about to go supernova but another explanation might be that it has expelled clouds of "soot". Another guess (mine) is that it may have fused nearly all of its helium and is about to fuse carbon, nitrogen and oxygen and moving to another stage in its evolution. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 30, 2019 Share Posted December 30, 2019 More info: http://dodecahedronbooks.blogspot.com/2019/12/the-current-historically-unprecedented.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brantuk Posted December 31, 2019 Share Posted December 31, 2019 Yep I noticed the other night it wasn't as red in appearance as it usually is. It certainly made me wonder if it's about to collapse then go SN. But then, how long would that take, and how long would it take the light to reach us here on Earth? Watch this space.... lol 🙂 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philjay Posted December 31, 2019 Share Posted December 31, 2019 Theres certainly a lot of stuff about this at tge moment, especially on sosheeal meejah. Its a variable star so is moving towards a minima. Suppose because its one of the winter bright stars and is relatively easy to spot even from light polluted skies it,s getting more press this time round. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 31, 2019 Share Posted December 31, 2019 4 hours ago, philjay said: Theres certainly a lot of stuff about this at tge moment, especially on sosheeal meejah. Its a variable star so is moving towards a minima. Suppose because its one of the winter bright stars and is relatively easy to spot even from light polluted skies it,s getting more press this time round. It has the distinction of being the brightest variable star in the sky. I have seen various estimates for its range. I follow it, although one won't notice much change from night to night. I have seen estimates as faint as mag 1.3 but even my estimate of 1.2 is outside of its normal range. I have seen it as faint as Pollux before (again outside of its "official" range) but never noticeably fainter. Pollux is a great comparison star because it is of similar colour and doesn't vary much. I often compare it to Rigel and Procyon when it is at/near its brightest but the colour contrast makes things difficult, especially if one perceives red as brighter than most people. Aldebaran (mag 0.9) is useful as a general guide for comparison but I am in a minority that considers Aldebaran to be variable, albeit with a small range. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 13, 2020 Share Posted January 13, 2020 The latest twist to the tale is that I think it has brightened a bit to around mag 1.2. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 29, 2020 Share Posted January 29, 2020 (edited) ... and now I think it is 1.5! Of course, it might not be varying quite as much, as colour perception and the uneven spread of haze can affect how bright it looks but it appeared only a shade brighter than Bellatrix. Edited January 29, 2020 by Sunny Phil typ0 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 31, 2020 Share Posted January 31, 2020 Latest news suggests I'm in the right ball park: http://www.astronomerstelegram.org/?read=13410 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 7, 2020 Share Posted February 7, 2020 Now DEFINITELY fainter than mag 1.5 and possibly as faint as 1.6. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 18, 2020 Share Posted February 18, 2020 Betelguese has now brightened to magnitude 1.45 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 2, 2020 Share Posted March 2, 2020 Still brightening. About mag 1.3 now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 24, 2020 Share Posted March 24, 2020 Now about 1.2 and apparently steady. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 26, 2020 Share Posted March 26, 2020 I was amazed to see that Betelguese had brightened quite considerably. It matched Pollux, well outshone Bellatrix and Castor, so that suggested a magnitude of 1.1. However, it also outshone Aldebaran, which would suggest an even brighter magnitude but I suspect Aldebaran of being variable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nightspore Posted March 26, 2020 Share Posted March 26, 2020 It's definitely got brighter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nightspore Posted March 26, 2020 Share Posted March 26, 2020 Sorry, couldn't resist it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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