3 ms·
For hydrogen-burning stars, the life expectancy is reciprocal to their mass. As Betelgeuse is much more massive than the Sun, its lifetime is considerably short
by _ph_ 6y ago
For hydrogen-burning stars, the life expectancy is reciprocal to their mass. As Betelgeuse is much more massive than the Sun, its lifetime is considerably shorter. As it is already a red giant, it is in its last phase before going supernova.
One far day in the future, the Sun is also going to become a red giant, extending out till the Mars orbit. But that is still much smaller than Betelgeuse is right now. Actually it is so large, that its diameter can be directly measured by astronomers.
- T-hawk 6y agoIt's more than reciprocal. Fusion rate and luminosity go up enormously with stellar mass, like m^4 or even higher, so the lifetime goes more like 1/m^4. Sirius for example is 2x the mass of the sun, but 25x as luminous, therefore 2/25 the lifetime until it runs out of hydrogen.