Betelgeuse is one of the most visible stars in our sky. In 2019, events began to occur on this red giant, which opaquely hinted that it could soon explode into a supernova. Of course, if this happens, it will definitely not be soon. Therefore, astronomers on Twitter joke about the Betelgeuse explosion, which everyone is so looking forward to.
In general, astronomers assume that the famous star, which is still very bright in the left shoulder of the constellation Orion, will become a supernova within the next 100 thousand years. On an astronomical scale, it is almost an instant, literally “from day to day”, but for humanity it is an infinitely long time. Of course, scientists on Twitter are joking about this situation.
“Betelgeuse better explode soon or I’ll blow it up myself,” joked Sanjana Curtis, an astrophysicist at the University of Chicago. Another scientist also jokingly commented on the variable brightness of the star: “DETONATE ALREADY YOU COWARD!”
I giggle with each tweet imploring Betelgeuse to explode because my XKCD summary of supernova papers has aged gracefully, much like Betelgeuse as it refuses to detonate. https://twitter.com/ohdearz/status/1390068388974768128 https://t.co/jFlyVbaXQy pic.twitter.com/9BKhYmWnP4
— Dr. Laura Lopez (@ohdearz) April 29, 2023
The inevitable death of Betelgeuse has become a real meme that someone even has revived the comic XKCD 2016 and found there a mention of the red giant.
Although there are those among scientists who do not want to say goodbye to the famous star, because this star has become part of culture and folklore. It would be very sad if this happened sooner than many people hope.
“Am I a bad astronomer for not wanting Betelgeuse to blow up because Orion is my favorite constellation due to its gorgeous symmetry and beauty? I don’t want it to change!” commented astrophysicist Eilat Glikman from Middlebury College on Twitter.
Earlier we reported on how Betelgeuse restored brightness after a mysterious eclipse.
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