Betelgeuse Star Expected to Crash Into Linear Bar of Material in 5,000 Years

Posted on January 22, 2013

The outermost arc of the star Betelgeuse is expected to begin crashing into a linear bar of material in about 5,000 years. Betelgeuse is part of the constellation Orion the Hunter. It is 1,000 times the size of our Sun and shines 100,000 times brighter than our Sun.

The bar is revealed on an image from the Herschel Space Observatory. NASA says the bar is believed to be either a linear filament linked to the galaxy's magnetic field or the edge of an interstellar gas cloud. NASA also says in a release that the impact between Betelgeuse and the bar will cause a "spectacular supernova explosion."

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