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Star Betelgeuse - A red supergiant in the constellation Orion

One fascinating star is Betelgeuse, a red supergiant located in the constellation Orion. Here are some intriguing facts about it: 1. Size and Volume: Betelgeuse is immense—if placed at the center of our solar system, it would extend past the orbit of Mars. 2. Variability: It is a pulsating variable star, meaning its brightness changes over time; it has been observed to vary in brightness over several months. 3. Life Cycle: Betelgeuse is nearing the end of its life cycle and is expected to explode as a supernova within the next million years, a relatively short time in astrophysical terms. 4. Distance: It is located approximately 640 light-years away from Earth. 5. Cultural Significance: Betelgeuse has been significant in many cultures and is commonly referred to as the “Shoulder of the Hunter” in the constellation Orion. 6. Color Indicator: Its reddish hue signifies a cooler surface temperature compared to other stars, which gives it a distinctive appearance. Betelgeuse con...

Neutron star with measured at 11 kilometers radius

An international research team led by members of the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics (Albert Einstein Institute; AEI) has obtained new measurements of how big neutron stars are. To do so, they combined a general first-principles description of the unknown behavior of neutron star matter with multi-messenger observations of the binary neutron star merger GW170817. Their results, which appeared in Nature Astronomy today, are more stringent by a factor of two than previous limits and show that a typical neutron star has a radius close to 11 kilometers. They also find that neutron stars merging with black holes are in most cases likely to be swallowed whole, unless the black hole is small and/or rapidly rotating. This means that while such mergers might be observable as gravitational-wave sources, they would be invisible in the electromagnetic spectrum.

from Astronomy News - Space News, Exploration News, Earth Science News, Earth Science https://ift.tt/39Gv4gR

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