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Comment by Tangurena2 | Hacker News Reader

When it explodes, Betelgeuse is expected to be brighter than the full moon. Gamma ray bursts appear to follow the axis of rotation of the star, and since that axis does not point directly at Earth (it is off by about 20 degrees), that's not a threat. So it will be exciting, scary and safe - like a rollercoaster that everyone on Earth gets to ride at the same time.

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Ah. About that "gamma bursts appear to follow the spin axis" rule - do Earth's astronomers have good data, with a comfortable n, to justify confidence that their little planet can't possibly get toasted by this rather large and unstable stellar neighbor?

Asking for a friend.

Turns out they are wrong, what are you gonna do about it? "Betelgeuse... no... stop..."

Prosecute the astronomers for inaccuracy in their warnings.

"Italian scientists convicted for not warning about deadly 2009 quake"

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/italian-scientists-convicted-fo...

How did that turn out? Were they acquitted? I've noticed in other cases that Italian prosecutors seem have an unusual amount of latitude, or is that normal?

Depends who you know in some places.

Yes, acquitted: https://www.science.org/content/article/why-italian-earthqua...

>> "Betelgeuse... no... stop..."

I have a new saying!

Asking for 6 billion friends.

If it does I hope people will look to the stars more and reflect on their beautiful place in the universe. I can hardly envision a more navel gazing species than humans, and we need more people with telescopes and wide views.

Do any other species even have navels?

A few, yes: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Placentalia

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orange_(fruit)#Navel

Chickens have belly buttons. I think anything that comes from an egg potentially has one.

Not all humans have belly buttons:

> If you ever find yourself in die company of a fundamentalist, much pleasant argumentation can result if you ask him or her a simple question: Did Adam and Eve have bellybuttons?

> For those who believe the Bible to be historically accurate, this is not a trivial question. If Adam and Eve did not have navels, then they were not perfect human beings. On die other hand, if they had navels, then the navels would imply a birth they never experienced.

https://cdn.centerforinquiry.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/29...

> But our first parents, Adam and Eve, didn't develop that way. I believe that God would not have planted on them a false indication that they had developed in a mother's womb.

https://AnswersInGenesis.org/adam-and-eve/did-adam-have-a-be...

How would this affect satellites?

If they are in orbit around a body orbiting Betelgeuse, I'm guessing they won't fair too well at all

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