Editing Betelgeuse (section)

====Media reporting====
Due to misunderstandings caused by the 2009 publication of the star's 15% contraction, apparently of its outer atmosphere,<ref name=UCBERKELEY2009/><ref name=ASTRONOMYMAG2009/> Betelgeuse has frequently been the subject of scare stories and rumors suggesting that it will explode within a year, and leading to exaggerated claims about the consequences of such an event.<ref>
{{cite news
 | last=Connelly | first=Claire
 | date=19 January 2011
 | title=Tatooine's twin suns – coming to a planet near you just as soon as Betelgeuse explodes
 | website=News.com.au
 | url=http://www.news.com.au/technology/sci-tech/tatooines-twin-suns-coming-to-a-planet-near-you-just-as-soon-as-betelgeuse-explodes/story-fn5fsgyc-1225991009247
 | access-date=14 September 2012 | url-status=dead
 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120922083805/http://www.news.com.au/technology/sci-tech/tatooines-twin-suns-coming-to-a-planet-near-you-just-as-soon-as-betelgeuse-explodes/story-fn5fsgyc-1225991009247
 | archive-date=22 September 2012 | df=dmy-all
}}
</ref><ref>{{cite web
 | last=Plait
 | first=Phil
 | date=1 June 2010
 | title=Is Betelgeuse about to blow?
 | website=Bad Astronomy
 | publisher=Discovery
 | url=http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2010/06/01/is-betelgeuse-about-to-blow/
 | access-date=14 September 2012
 | archive-date=21 April 2011
 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110421003143/http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2010/06/01/is-betelgeuse-about-to-blow/
 | url-status=dead
 }}</ref> The timing and prevalence of these rumors have been linked to broader misconceptions of astronomy, particularly to doomsday predictions relating to the [[2012 phenomenon|Mayan calendrical apocalypse]].<ref>
{{cite news
 | last=O'Neill | first=Ian
 | date=20 January 2011
 | title=Don't panic! Betelgeuse won't explode in 2012!
 | website=Discovery space news
 | url=http://news.discovery.com/space/betelgeuse-probably-wont-explode-in-2012.htm
 | access-date=14 September 2012
 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110123082459/http://news.discovery.com/space/dont-panic-betelgeuse-wont-explode-in-2012.html
 | archive-date=23 January 2011
}}
</ref><ref>{{cite web
 | last=Plait
 | first=Phil
 | date=21 January 2011
 | title=Betelgeuse and 2012
 | website=Bad Astronomy
 | publisher=Discovery
 | url=http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2011/01/21/betelgeuse-and-2012/
 | access-date=14 September 2012
 | archive-date=3 November 2012
 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121103082609/http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2011/01/21/betelgeuse-and-2012/
 | url-status=dead
 }}</ref> Betelgeuse is not likely to produce a [[gamma-ray burst]] and is not close enough for its [[X-ray]]s, ultraviolet radiation, or ejected material to cause significant effects on [[Earth]].<ref name=dolan2016/><ref>{{Cite web |last=Betz |first=Eric |date=2020-02-14 |title=When Betelgeuse goes supernova, what will it look like from Earth? |url=https://www.astronomy.com/science/when-betelgeuse-goes-supernova-what-will-it-look-like-from-earth/ |access-date=2023-06-15 |website=Astronomy Magazine |language=en-US}}</ref>

Following the dimming of Betelgeuse in December&nbsp;2019,<ref name=AT-20191208>{{cite news |last1=Guinan |first1=Edward F. |author-link1=Edward Guinan |last2=Wasatonic |first2=Richard J. |last3=Calderwood |first3=Thomas J. |title=ATel #13341 – The fainting of the nearby red supergiant Betelgeuse |url=http://www.astronomerstelegram.org/?read=13341 |date=8 December 2019 |work=[[The Astronomer's Telegram]] |access-date=27 December 2019}}</ref><ref name=AT-20191223/> reports appeared in the science and mainstream media that again included speculation that the star might be about to explode as a supernova – even in the face of scientific research that a supernova is not expected for perhaps 100,000&nbsp;years.<ref name=Sep2014-Slate>
{{cite magazine
 |first = Phil |last = Plait |author-link = Phil Plait
 |date = 8 September 2014
 |title = When will Betelgeuse explode?
 |magazine = [[Slate (magazine)|Slate]]
 |url = https://slate.com/technology/2014/09/betelgeuse-astronomers-give-it-100000-years-before-it-explodes.html
 |access-date = 28 December 2019
}}
</ref> Some outlets reported the magnitude as faint as +1.3 as an unusual and interesting phenomenon, like ''Astronomy'' magazine,<ref name=Dec2019-AstroMag/> the ''[[National Geographic]]'',<ref name=NG-20191226/> and the [[Smithsonian (magazine)|''Smithsonian'']].<ref>
{{cite news
 |first = Katherine J. |last = Wu
 |date = 26 December 2019
 |title = A giant star is dimming, which could be a sign it is about to explode
 |magazine = [[Smithsonian (magazine)|Smithsonian]]
 |url = https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/giant-star-betelgeuse-dimming-sign-it-could-explode-180973861/
 |access-date = 28 December 2019
}}
</ref>

Some mainstream media, like ''[[The Washington Post]]'',<ref name=Dec2019-WaPo/> ''[[ABC News (Australia)|ABC News]]'' in Australia,<ref name=Dec2019-ABC/> and ''[[Popular Science]]'',<ref>
{{cite news
 |first = Rachel |last = Feltman
 |date = 26 December 2019
 |title = We really don't know when Betelgeuse is going to explode
 |magazine = [[Popular Science]]
 |url = https://www.popsci.com/story/space/betelgeuse-star-supernova/
 |access-date = 28 December 2019
}}
</ref> reported that a supernova was possible but unlikely, whilst other outlets falsely portrayed a supernova as an imminent realistic possibility. [[CNN]], for example, chose the headline "A giant red star is acting weird and scientists think it may be about to explode",<ref name=Dec2019-CNN>
{{cite news
 |first = Ryan |last = Prior
 |date = 26 December 2019
 |title = A giant red star is acting weird and scientists think it may be about to explode
 |website = [[CNN]]
 |url = https://edition.cnn.com/2019/12/26/world/betelgeuse-may-explode-scn-trnd/index.html
 |access-date = 28 December 2019
}}
</ref> while the ''[[New York Post]]'' declared Betelgeuse as "due for explosive supernova".<ref name=Dec2019-NYP>
{{cite news
 |first = Hannah |last = Sparks
 |date = 26 December 2019
 |title = Massive 'Betelgeuse' star in Orion constellation due for explosive supernova
 |newspaper = [[New York Post]]
 |url = https://nypost.com/2019/12/26/massive-betelgeuse-star-in-orion-constellation-due-for-explosive-supernova/
 |access-date = 28 December 2019
}}
</ref>

[[Phil Plait]], in his ''[[Bad Astronomy]]'' blog, noting that Betelgeuse's recent behaviour, "[w]hile unusual . . . isn't unprecedented," argued that the star is not likely to explode "for a long, long time."<ref name = Dec2019-SciFiWire>
{{cite web
 |first = Phil |last = Plait |author-link = Phil Plait
 |date = 24 December 2019
 |title = Don't Panic! Betelgeuse is (almost certainly) not about to explode
 |website = [[Syfy#Syfy Wire|Syfy Wire]]
 |url = https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/dont-panic-betelgeuse-is-almost-certainly-not-about-to-explode
 |access-date = 28 December 2019
}}
</ref> [[Dennis Overbye]] of ''[[The New York Times]]'' agreed that an explosion was not imminent but added that "astronomers are having fun thinking about it."<ref name=NYT-20200109>
{{cite news
 |last=Overbye |first=Dennis |author-link=Dennis Overbye
 |date=9 January 2020
 |title=Just a fainting spell? Or is Betelgeuse about to blow? – A familiar star in the constellation Orion has dimmed noticeably since October. Astronomers wonder if its explosive finale is imminent
 |newspaper=[[The New York Times]]
 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/09/science/astronomy-supernova-betelgeuse.html
 |access-date=12 January 2020
}}
</ref>

Following the eventual supernova, [[Compact star|a small dense remnant]] will be left behind, either a [[neutron star]] or [[black hole]]. Betelgeuse does not seem to have a core massive enough for a black hole, so the remnant will probably be a neutron star of approximately {{solar mass|1.5}}.<ref name=dolan2016/>