Pythagorean Astronomy · Chris North and Edward Gomez

Dimming stars, Galactic waves and misbehaving gas clouds

·26 min·2 clips

Betelgeuse has dimmed by 25%, making it the faintest it's been in over a century.

This episode of Pythagorean Astronomy explores recent astronomical discoveries and phenomena with hosts Chris North, Claudia Antolini, and Edward Gomez. The trio examines significant observations of a famous star and new research on galactic structures. They also discuss unusual behavior detected in interstellar gas clouds. The hosts begin by analyzing the dramatic dimming of the bright red star Betelgeuse in the constellation Orion. Edward Gomez notes that astronomer Edward Guinan has studied the star for about 25 years. The star's total brightness has decreased by roughly 25 percent, which corresponds to a surface temperature drop of several hundred degrees. This cooling is likely due to the star expanding by approximately 10 percent. Edward compares this to cooling hot tea by pouring it into a saucer to increase its surface area. To the human eye, Betelgeuse appears about two and a half times fainter now than it did four months ago. While Betelgeuse is a known variable star, its current dimming is the most significant in over a hundred years. The hosts clarify that a supernova explosion is not imminent and these are likely thermal pulsations preceding its eventual demise. A surprising insight is that the visual dimming is more extreme than the measured total brightness drop because the cooled star emits less light in the visible spectrum. The discussion reveals that such significant pulsations, while expected for this type of star, are rarely observed in such detail. The episode then shifts to cover the discovery of a coherent wave-like structure rippling through the Milky Way's disk. This finding challenges previous models of a relatively calm galactic plane. Finally, the hosts examine observations of "misbehaving" gas clouds that are not conforming to expected rotational dynamics within galaxies. The tone is conversational and educational, with the hosts explaining complex concepts through everyday analogies. The style is collaborative, with each host contributing specific expertise to the topics. Listeners interested in current astronomical events and clear explanations of stellar behavior would enjoy this episode. Those seeking highly technical, data-heavy analysis might find the discussion too introductory.

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