Betelgeuse Resolved
Explanation:
The sharpest image ever of Betelgeuse shows a mammoth star that is slowly evaporating.
Betelgeuse (sounds a lot like "beetle juice"), also known as
Alpha Orionis, is one of the
largest and brightest stars known.
The star is a familiar orange fixture
easily visible to the unaided eye
toward the constellation of
Orion.
The
above recent image from the
Very Large Telescope
in
Chile
resolves not only the face of Betelgeuse, but a large and previously
unknown plume of surrounding gas.
This plume gives fresh indications of how the
massive star is shedding mass as it nears the end of its life.
Conversely, a series of previous observations indicate that the surface of Betelgeuse
has noticeably shrunk, on the average, over the past decade.
If
Betelgeuse, a red
supergiant star
about 640 light years distant, were placed at the center of our Solar System, the
plume would extend past the orbit of Jupiter.
Since
Betelgeuse
is known to change its
brightness irregularly, future observations may determine if changes its appearance
irregularly as well.
Betelgeuse is a candidate to undergo a
spectacular
supernova
explosion almost anytime in the next few thousand 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.
