The protagonist of the story is the remarkable Betelgeuse, which is about to unleash a cosmic catastrophe 640 light-years away, and human civilization may disappear without a trace.
1. Betelgeuse: The pearl of Orion
Have you ever looked up at the stars on a cold winter night and seen the three stars in the constellation Orion in a line? The one on the left shoulder is Betelgeuse. It once shone as bright as a pearl, but now it is in an extremely precarious state, as if waiting for a cosmic upheaval.
Located 640 light-years away, this red supergiant is a jewel in the universe. However, it is not the longest-lived star, but a massive red supergiant that is nearing the end of its life.
2. The fate of the stars
The life of a star has a fate similar to that of humans, starting with a columnar gas of molecular clouds, going through rotation, nuclear fusion, and finally extinction. Betelgeuse was once a striking star, but today it has very little hydrogen left, and helium is converted to carbon at high temperatures and densities, causing it to expand dramatically.
You can think of this star as a dying giant, whose internal balance no longer exists, just waiting for fate to strike. Astronomers are keeping a close eye on Betelgeuse as it faces a supernova explosion that will release energy equivalent to the sun's energy in 5.5 billion years combined.
3. The power of supernova explosions
A supernova explosion is a cosmic fireworks feast, but it could be the beginning of a catastrophe for life on Earth. Considering Betelgeuse is 640 light-years away, even if the aftermath of its eruption can't destroy Earth, high-energy radiation and particle streams could still hit like a deadly storm.
When the supernova explodes, the energy released by Betelgeuse will travel hundreds of years before reaching Earth. While energy decays as it travels, the remaining high-energy charged particles may interfere with the Earth's ionosphere like the solar wind, causing a global electromagnetic disturbance or blackout.
The most serious consequence may be that all the equipment that uses electricity on the earth will be destroyed in a storm of high-energy charged particles, and the entire human civilization will be instantly set back three hundred years, back to the era of the industrial revolution.
Fourth, the countdown to the end of the world
In our story, Betelgeuse is in a moment of great precariousness. Last year and this year, there has been a massive decline in its brightness, which could be a precursor to its imminent outbreak. Astronomers are closely monitoring the star with modern technology, trying to detect possible threats in advance.
Although the Betelgeuse we see today is already in the state of 640 years ago, in a universe where the speed of information transmission is capped at 300,000 kilometers per second, we will never be able to actively ** the exact time of the supernova explosion.
5. Uncertainty of the outcome
In this countdown to the apocalypse, we face an unknown end. Is it to wait for Betelgeuse to erupt, or to hope that it will survive this dangerous moment safely? People on Earth may be helpless and can only passively wait for the decision of the universe.
Perhaps, we can take a little inspiration from this story: although human civilization faces an unpredictable future, we should still cherish the present and strive to create a better tomorrow. Regardless of whether the end really comes, we must continue to explore the unknown world, because in the vastness of the universe, there may be miracles that we cannot imagine waiting for us to discover.
This is a science fiction story about Betelgeuse, and it is also a reflection on the fragility and resilience of human civilization. Let's look forward to the future together, and even in the midst of uncertainty, we can look forward to new hopes.