Betelgeuse
Explanation:
Here is the
first direct picture of the
surface of a star other than our Sun.
Taken by the
Hubble Space Telescope
in 1995, the atmosphere of
Betelgeuse reveals some unexpected features,
including a large bright hotspot visible below the center.
Betelgeuse (sounds like "beetle juice")
is a red supergiant star about 600 light years distant,
easily recognizable from its brightness and
reddish color in the
constellation of Orion. While
Betelgeuse is cooler than the
Sun,
it is more massive and over 1000 times larger.
If placed at the center of our
Solar System,
it would extend past the orbit of
Jupiter. Betelgeuse is nearing the end of its life
and will become a
supernova
in a perhaps a few tens of millions of years.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
