tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38085367.post1166113613844569287..comments2024-03-19T09:06:21.507-04:00Comments on Irtiqa: Betelgeuse hysteria, Sliding astrology, and the farthest object in the UniverseSalman Hameedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04327330113822656571noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38085367.post-20635103125887094942011-01-28T02:31:48.515-05:002011-01-28T02:31:48.515-05:00Thanks for the info about Betelgeuse. I hope it th...Thanks for the info about Betelgeuse. I hope it this red giant waits long enough for the ELT or OWL telescope's completion, for it is the only star we actually can see the surface details of.<br />Tasmanian sky is amazing. The brightest thing in the sky is the Milky Way galaxy itself in its entire stretch across the sky, with large and small magellanic clouds adding more to the show in this natural planetarium above. And the most interesting part is the Orion constellation hanging upside down from these southern skies!<br />I have been in Tasmania for nearly a month now.Dr. M. Akbar Hussainhttp://astronomer.zoomshare.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38085367.post-74749336194143027402011-01-28T00:10:53.042-05:002011-01-28T00:10:53.042-05:00Wow - Tasmania should be nice. And fantastic views...Wow - Tasmania should be nice. And fantastic views of the Milky Way.<br /><br />Betelgeuse is going through size changes (actually, there is still some dispute about its actual size because of that). A few years ago, it reduced its size a bit (the photosphere), and it was assumed that this was perhaps due to some ejection episode. But we don't exactly know how many such episodes take place in the last million years of such gigantic stars. It is juts absolutely amazing that we are seeing such episodes now in some good details. So are these the sign of its final sequence before core-collapse? Don't know. And it is exactly this uncertainty that limits the predictions to within a few hundred-thousand years.<br /><br />Enjoy Tasmania!Salman Hameedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04327330113822656571noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38085367.post-16966236840248672752011-01-27T03:18:34.491-05:002011-01-27T03:18:34.491-05:00Just last night I was gazing the starry southern s...Just last night I was gazing the starry southern sky over Tasmania here through unaided eye and telling my wife about Betelgeuse that I want to live up to see a supervova in this red giant. But one thing...this star hasn't started shedding the gaseous shell outwards, or has it? (at least not in my knowledge). I know eta-Carinae as a more imminent candidate for supernova. <br />What visible changes do you suggest a star should undergo (as seen from earth) just before going into a final sequence of collapse? From just before, I really mean a few dozen centuries or so ;-)Dr. M. Akbar Hussainhttp://astronomer.zoomshare.comnoreply@blogger.com