# Earth could have two suns by 2012?



## Christa25 (Oct 2, 2010)

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

Pretty interesting stuff. Constant brightness would annoy me though. I like night time.


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## slothex (May 24, 2011)

Be the biggest thing to happen since the Beatles.


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## Squirrelevant (Jul 27, 2008)

From what I've read, it would only be about as bright as a full moon.



> The Star Wars-esque scenario could happen by 2012, Carter says... or it could take longer.


In the original news.com.au article this is referencing, Dr Carter doesn't make any claims about 2012.



> In a follow-up piece on news.com.au, Dr. Carter stressed that there is no way of knowing when the star may go supernova. U.S. astronomer Phil Plait added, "Betelgeuse might go up tonight, or it might not be for 100,000 years. We're just not sure."


It seems they were just itching for an excuse to tack "2012" onto the article's title somehow in order to get it circulating around the internet. The Huffington Post is known for some terrible science reporting.


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## millenniumman75 (Feb 4, 2005)

Where's Michael Keaton when we REALLY need him? :lol


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## Jnmcda0 (Nov 28, 2003)

Betelgeuse is losing mass, eh?






According to NASA's website, Betelgeuse could become a supernova "almost anytime in the next few thousand years".

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap090805.html

It could happen in 2012 or it could happen 3000 years from now. It would be cool to see it in our lifetime.



Christa25 said:


> Constant brightness would annoy me though. I like night time.


It would only be about a bright as a gibbous moon (between a half moon and full moon) and would only last a few weeks, so I don't think it would be any inconvenience in that regard.


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## King Moonracer (Oct 12, 2010)

Its 1300 lightyears away.....so its already happened haha, we just dont see it yet. There could be a black hole coming towards earth right now, and we wouldnt know it.

thatd be so cool to see a supernova though, and actually get pictures of it.


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## Rixy (Oct 4, 2009)

I'm sure the original sun won't like this young whippersnapper taking it's turf. Sun wars, anyone?


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## Neptunus (Oct 29, 2007)

That would be soooo cool! I hope it happens in my lifetime!


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## odicepaul (Jul 20, 2009)

*Me Too*



Christa25 said:


> http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/20/two-suns-twin-stars_n_811864.html
> 
> Pretty interesting stuff. Constant brightness would annoy me though. I like night time.


Me too, but God may bring it on, I'm tired of the world I live in.
:roll


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## gilt (Jan 7, 2010)

Betelgeuse? That's one of the big ones! (Sol is our sun)


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## Jnmcda0 (Nov 28, 2003)

gilt said:


> Betelgeuse? That's one of the big ones! (Sol is our sun)


At one time, Betelgeuse was only slightly larger than Rigel. When stars enter the red supergiant phase, they get substantially larger, despite their mass staying roughly the same. Someday, Rigel will be nearly the size that Betelgeuse is today. Our sun, on the other hand, doesn't have the mass to become a red supergiant, so it won't get nearly that large.


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## antonina (Oct 25, 2008)

Well that certainly would be strange to see two suns in the sky. I know when there was a partial solar eclipse it gave me a really creepy feeling even though I knew what was happening. I'm glad it would only be as light as the moon, because it would probably upset plants and animals otherwise.


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## Jnmcda0 (Nov 28, 2003)

antonina said:


> I know when there was a partial solar eclipse it gave me a really creepy feeling even though I knew what was happening.


Imagine what ancient people must have thought at seeing such sights and not understanding why it was occurring.


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## Resonance (Feb 11, 2010)

"Dr. Carter stressed that there is no way of knowing when the star may go supernova. U.S. astronomer Phil Plait added, "Betelgeuse might go up tonight, or it might not be for 100,000 years. We're just not sure.""

Earth could have two suns by the time you read this post, or never, or whenever, basically.


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## Kennnie (Oct 21, 2010)

Sounds fun


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## Ramon (May 24, 2011)

I've always been scared of black holes.


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## i just want luv (Feb 13, 2011)

is this for real? how come this type of stuff aint on the news? I think it's just a lil important


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## Jnmcda0 (Nov 28, 2003)

i just want luv said:


> is this for real? how come this type of stuff aint on the news? I think it's just a lil important


It may not happen for thousands of years. What would be the point of reporting on it now?


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## Deathinmusic (Jun 5, 2009)

This would be cool. In fact such a thing has happened before but that was sometime in the middle ages. I just re-watched all of Carl Sagan's "Cosmos" a while ago and it mentioned such an event.


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## sarafinanickelbocker (May 16, 2010)

gilt said:


> Betelgeuse? That's one of the big ones! (Sol is our sun)


Sheesh, and then just think of how small Earth is to the sun.

Anyway, it will be interesting to see if such a thing happens in our lifetime.


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## sleepytime (Feb 18, 2011)

Cool...I really want to see this.


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## CeilingStarer (Dec 29, 2009)

They drag this article out every couple of years.


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## Hank Scorpio (Oct 28, 2008)

It's only a couple of weeks. That would be pretty awesome to see.


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## i just want luv (Feb 13, 2011)

I looked outside and I see this unusual star it didn't look white, it looks clearly orange with more volume then the rest...


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## CeilingStarer (Dec 29, 2009)

i just want luv said:


> I looked outside and I see this unusual star it didn't look white, it looks clearly orange with more volume then the rest...


Probably Mars.


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