56: No Bang For Betelgeuse?

"Is Betelgeuse About To Explode?" — Forbes. "Is Betelgeuse On The Brink Of A Supernova?" — Washington Post. "Fading star heading for explosive end?" — The Guardian. Betelgeuse, the astoundingly big red star in Orion's armpit, is indeed acting weirdly, but astrophysics and Betteridge's Law both suggest the answer to the headline questions is "probably not today, no".

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Things we talked about in this episode:

Betteridge’s Law of Headlines

Betelgeuse is acting weird

The recent observations

The constellation of Orion

Zoom into Orion Nebula

Barnard’s Loop

Supergiant stars

Stellar evolution

Star Size Comparison video

Supernova 1987a

Supernova candidates