2 Suns? Twin Stars could be visible fr Earth by 2012

[katty]

more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/20/two-suns-twin-stars_n_811864.html

Earth could be getting a second sun, at least temporarily.

Dr. Brad Carter, Senior Lecturer of Physics at the University of Southern Queensland, outlined the scenario to news.com.au. Betelgeuse, one of the night sky's brightest stars, is losing mass, indicating it is collapsing. It could run out of fuel and go super-nova at any time.

When that happens, for at least a few weeks, we'd see a second sun, Carter says. There may also be no night during that timeframe.

The Star Wars-esque scenario could happen by 2012, Carter says... or it could take longer. The explosion could also cause a neutron star or result in the formation of a black hole 1300 light years from Earth, reports news.com.au.

[MineralMan]

1. Whatever it is, it happened already. 1300 years ago.

Space is cool!

[Renew Deal]

2. They might be visible, but no one will be around to see them.

:hide:

[elocs]

3. Check here from last night:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=228x75437

[Dogmudgeon]

4. A poor article on a real happening

Betelgeuse is, indeed, collapsing, and the diameter of the observable/interpolatable disk has shrunk, IIRC, about 40% since 1950. The observable "collapse", if that's what it really is, seems to be speeding up. That tends to indicate that most of us will live to see history's most spectacular supernova.

But it won't quite be a "second Sun". At its peak, it will look like a star that's brighter than the full Moon.

Keep in mind, most of this is still subject to controversy, and there are astronomers on all sides of the topic. What I have written is based on my reading, all the way since the late 1960s, when I was a ten-year-old kid and first heard about the possible Betelgeuse Supernova. If you hear something different from an astronomer, take his/her word for it, not mine.

--d!

[kenfrequed]

5. Time on an Astronomical scale

Really, I think this might be speculation at this point. Interesting speculation but speculation never the less.