For the first time, the exact temperature of the photosphere of red supergiants became known

Red supergiants are the brightest, shortest-lived and largest stars in the Universe. Usually at the end

During their lifetime, they explode as a supernova, but astronomers cannot yet predict exactly when this will happen.

This is due to the fact that until recently, scientists could not determine the exact temperature of the photosphere of these stars - the lower layer of their atmosphere, in which most of the star's radiation is formed.

To measure the temperature of a red supergiant,you need to find clearly visible areas of the star’s photosphere, the emission spectrum of which was not affected by the upper layers of their atmosphere. In addition, there is no one specific absorption line that would unambiguously indicate the surface temperature of such stars. 

Daisuke Taniguchi, researcher at the University of Tokyo

This is how astronomers determined the temperaturethe photosphere of ten nearby red supergiants. In particular, for Betelgeuse it is 3344.85 degrees Celsius, which is about 1.68 times less than the temperature of the Sun's photosphere.

These newest changes, astrophysicists are sure,will help to understand what processes occur in the bowels of such luminaries, as well as to make the first full-fledged predictions on how close Betelgeuse is to becoming a supernova.

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