What's going to happen to all the stars in the Universe as they get older? Well, just as nothing can live forever, stars can't live forever also. Why? Because they run on fuel: burning hydrogen into helium, for example. When they run out of fuel, something's gotta give. Barbara Ryden reminds us of an excellent and appropriate quote by Dylan Thomas:
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
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March 8, 2021
Remember in late 2019, when the famous red star Betelgeuse suddenly and mysteriously began dimming in brightness? Astronomers studying a similar star – VY Canis Majoris, one of the largest and brightest stars in our galaxy – commented that it’s “… behaving a lot like Betelgeuse on steroids.”
View larger. | Artist’s concept of red hypergiant star VY Canis Majoris, with its giant arcs of plasma (reminiscent of prominences on our own sun). According to a new study, these vast arcs are thought to contribute to an observed dimming of this star over the past several centuries. Image via NASA/ ESA/ R. Humphreys (University of Minnesota)/ J. Olmsted (STScI)/ Hubblesite.