Indian Institute of Students

Here's something interesting for you all. Observe the night sky carefully, and try to find out the star Betelguese. It's easy to find- here's the trick. There are three stars lined up together in the sky, easily seen across India and actually all over the world. They form the Orion's Belt. I am attaching a photo so you may understand how to f ind it out.  The interesting this is, that Betelguese, a red supergiant in the Orion constellation, in the near astronomical future (which may be within the next million years, or even a year since) will explode and convert itself into a supernovae. The explosion will be seen precisely 642 years later after the incident actually takes place. Why is this so? It's because it's distance is 642 light years. Light takes 642 years to reach us. At that point, Betelguese will give out gamma rays. The gamma rays are sort of a hell for any celestial object that gets in it's path. For example, if earth was in it's path, ...