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What happens if Alpha Centauri went supernova?
As a supernova, Alpha Centauri could glow almost half as bright as our own sun during the day. At night, it’d generate light thousands of times brighter than our moon. It’d be the lightshow to end all lightshows, only with the caveat of Earth’s own impending doom.
What would happen if Alpha Centauri B replaced our sun?
Either of the two main stars of the Alpha Centauri system would allow an Earth-like planet. The distance between the two is never more than the distance between Earth and Saturn, so the second sun would not have much effect. But it would also be a system without the giant planets our solar system has.
Can Alpha Centauri go supernova?
The nearest star to our sun, Alpha Centauri, is not likely to become a supernova. But if a star at that distance did go supernova, there would be very heavy damage here on Earth. Its estimated distance is 520 light-years away.
What would happen if stars changed the sun?
If Sun is replaced by another star in our existing solar system then planets may not continue orbiting that star. It all depends on the mass of that star. If it is heavier than sun then planets may ultimately collapse into it or may take different orbits.
Is the Sun a flare star?
The Sun isn’t the only star to produce stellar flares. On April 21, 2021, a team of astronomers published new research describing the brightest flare ever measured from Proxima Centauri in ultraviolet light.
How bright will Alpha Centauri be when it goes supernova?
Well the combined brightness of the Alpha Centauri system is about twice that of the sun (Alpha Cen A is about 1.5X as bright as the sun, Alpha Cen B is about 0.5X as bright as the sun, and Proxima is so dim in comparison that it doesn’t matter). So when the supernova occurs, the system will increase in brightness 2.5 billion times in our sky.
What is Alpha Centauri?
Alpha Centauri is the nearest star system to us.
What will happen when Alpha Centauri b becomes a red giant?
Alpha Centauri is a binary system and both stars will ultimately become red giants, and then white dwarfs. Alpha Cen A being bigger will die first, thus it will be a white dwarf when Alpha Cen B becomes a red giant. Just the scenario needed to produce a Type Ia supernova.
What would happen if a star like Alpha Cen exploded?
The end result would be not that different. A pretty light show, and then mass death. Interestingly, if Alpha Cen was a star capable of becoming a type II supernova, it would be pretty spectacular in our sky even before exploding. Just prior to explosion it would likely be in a highly luminous supergiant phase.