Astronomy and Planetary Science Thread

[NMaude]

A video of what we'd see in the night sky after Alpha Orionis undergoes a Type-II core-collapse supernova:

The Night Sky When BETELGEUSE Goes SUPERNOVA

Betelgeuse, the nearest red hypergiant to Earth, is on the brink of a supernova. When it finally explodes, the event will be one of the brightest and most dramatic sights the night sky has ever offered.In this video, we explore what Earth would witness when Betelgeuse goes supernova. Through realistic visualizations, you'll see how the sky transforms, how bright the explosion would actually be, and what might be left behind.We also explore how this once-in-a-lifetime event would reshape the Orion constellation forever, marking the end of a star that has lit up our skies for millions of years.Whether it happens tomorrow or decades from now, the death of Betelgeuse is inevitable, and this is how it might look from here on Earth.

Time Codes:
00:00 Intro
00:17 Pre-Supernova
00:46 Supernova
01:23 Daytime Visible
01:40 Fading
01:57 Supernova Remnant
02:10 Post-Supernova

 

[Flyaway]

A star has been destroyed by a wandering supermassive black hole

Back in 2024, a system set up to identify objects that suddenly brighten found something unusual. Unfortunately, the automated system that was supposed to identify it couldn't figure out what it was looking at. Now, about a year later, we know it's the first tidal disruption event—meaning a star being ripped apart by a supermassive black hole—identified at visual wavelengths. It's also a rather unusual one, in that the supermassive black hole in question does not reside at the center of its galaxy. Instead, there's an even more massive object there, which is feeding on matter at the same time.

A star has been destroyed by a wandering supermassive black hole

Second supermassive black hole is a long way from the galaxy’s core.

arstechnica.com

Related paper:

A Massive Black Hole 0.8 kpc from the Host Nucleus Revealed by the Offset Tidal Disruption Event AT2024tvd

Tidal disruption events (TDEs) that are spatially offset from the nuclei of their host galaxies offer a new probe of massive black hole (MBH) wanderers, binaries, triples, and recoiling MBHs. Here we present AT2024tvd, the first off-nuclear TDE identified through optical sky surveys...

arxiv.org