this post was submitted on 16 Jun 2023
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I wonder how wildlife will react to having a second light in the night sky.
That's a super interesting question. The most recent supernova in our galaxy was Kepler's Star in the early 1600s. However, that supernova was over 20,000 lightyears away. This one will be over 33 times closer and, assuming a similar luminosity of the explosion, 1100 times brighter (due to 1/r^(2))
Kepler's Supernova had an apparent magnitude of about -2.5, so Betelgeuse's supernova will be about ~~-5.5~~ (According to wikipedia, it's expected to be -12.4) For reference, the moon is -12.7, and the sun is -27. So it will be a bright boy.
I do not know if wildlife reacted much to the Kepler Supernova, but it is possible. You might be able to find records on the fact if you go digging.
Thanks for the explanation, it is very clear. I am ready for Moon 2.0
Me too!
How bright will it be? Will we lose complete darkness at night? That would be a huge bummer.
It’ll be about as bright as a full moon, but obviously it won't be as big. The light will be concentrated in a much smaller point. It'll "drown out" some of the other stars you would usually be able to see, but the night won't suddenly be super bright at all times.
Moths will be vexed.