Beetlejuice and the Supernova Clock: Timelines, Turbulence, and the Latest Discoveries

Beetlejuice is a bright red supergiant about 650 light years away that will end its life in a supernova. This video explains the physics of supernovae, why Beetlejuice is a prime candidate, and what the explosion would mean for objects in the Milky Way and for Earth at its current distance. It covers the two main supernova pathways, the 2019 great dimming and the possibility of a binary companion named Siwara, and the latest observations from ALMA, Gaia, and the Hubble Space Telescope. The host discusses timing uncertainties, the role of the local interstellar environment, and why higher resolution data are crucial to predicting when Beetlejuice will detonate.

Overview

This video examines Beetlejuice, the bright red supergiant in Orion's belt, its current state, and the prospects of its eventual core collapse leading to a supernova. It explains the basic physics behind supernovae, the two main progenitor scenarios, and why Beetlejuice is more aligned with a type II explosion associated with massive stars.

Beetlejuice in Context

Beetlejuice is described as a red supergiant with a radius hundreds of times that of the Sun, extending beyond Mars’ orbit. Its rotation appears unusually fast for a star of this size, a puzzle that motivates discussion of possible angular momentum transfer through binary interactions or turbulent surface dynamics. The video highlights a candidate binary companion nicknamed Beetle Buddy, officially Siwara, whose presence could influence the star’s evolution and the interpretation of observations.

Observations and Implications

Recent data from ALMA suggest a dynamic, bubble-like surface with Doppler signatures that could indicate rapid spinning, while alternate interpretations attribute the signals to surface turbulence. The discussion covers how scientists leverage ALMA, Gaia, and the Hubble Space Telescope to refine models, track dimming events, and constrain the timing of Beetlejuice’s demise. While a nearby supernova would be spectacular, the host emphasizes Earth’s safety at the expected distance, with the most immediate danger being atmospheric and biospheric changes near the event.

Timeline and Takeaways

Timelines in astronomy are measured in millennia, centuries, or tens of thousands of years. The video notes that Beetlejuice could detonate within as little as decades if its radius were larger than previously thought, but most estimates place the explosion on timescales of up to 100,000 years, with many researchers prioritizing gradual, data-driven updates as new observations come in. The possibility of witnessing a local supernova within a human lifetime remains uncertain but a topic of active research.