Astronomy is done from the observer's point of view.
We have no idea and no way of knowing what's actually happening 600 ly. away, right now.
All our measurements are based on the light and radiation we can observe from here. We have no sensors close to it.
So if the paper is calculating supernova in couple of decades, it means the star actually went supernova 600+ years ago.
Astronomy is done from the observer's point of view.
I might be absolutely wrong though, I don't really know anything... I just checked how far away it is... but if it has gone supernova already, then we might have a chance to see it? That would be amazing.
There is no way for us to have any information whatsoever about an object until the light (ie, information) has reached us. For all intents and purposes, from our local reference frame, it hasn't happened until we observe.it.
well TIL
We can only view it from where we are in spacetime , and thus all the date we have on it is from our own reference frame. Any predictions about its fate are based on OUR viewpoint, not that of a point many light years away.
There is literally no way for us to know if it has "already" gone supernova. That reality has not reached us yet, and is therefore nonsensical to talk about.
According to google it's 642 Light years away. As in, it takes 642 years until the light reaches us. So you probably won't live to see it.
That's not how this works. Our estimates are based on our observations, that are also 642 years late. So if it's going to blow up in say 30 years, in reality it already gone supernova 612 years ago, and we're only gonna see it in 30 years.
cool, thanks i didn't know that
Even if we did have a satellite in orbit around Beetlejuice, its data would take just as long to reach us as the light from the star itself.
This relatively business is annoying. I suggest we just get rid of the whole thing and go back to the ether.