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Which of the following would be brighter, in terms of the amount of energy delivered to your retina:

A supernova, seen from as far away as the Sun is from the Earth, or

The detonation of a hydrogen bomb pressed against your eyeball?


The supernova is brighter by *nine orders of magnitude*.

quote:

“But I’m not holding my breath for it,” said Miguel Montargès, an astrophysicist at Catholic University of Leuven in Belgium.


Though Betelgeuse is near the end of its life span, it could still be as long as 100,000 years before the star begins its death throes. And although the star’s behavior is unusual, it’s not unheard of. Stories told by aboriginal Australians suggest they observed the red star flickering hundreds, if not thousands, of years before anyone began tracking it with telescopes.

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Originally posted by markj:
Unfortunately, not in our lifetime.