Hidden star found orbiting inside Betelgeuse in stunning Gemini telescope images
SMRTR summary
Betelgeuse, the red supergiant star that captivated astronomers with its mysterious dimming in 2019, has revealed another surprise: a hidden companion. Using a powerful speckle imager on the Gemini North telescope, scientists have captured the first-ever image of a faint star orbiting within Betelgeuse's extended atmosphere.
"Gemini North's ability to obtain high angular resolutions and sharp contrasts allowed the companion of Betelgeuse to be directly detected," says NASA Ames scientist Steve Howell, who led the study.
The discovery may explain Betelgeuse's puzzling six-year brightness cycle and offers new insights into the evolution of massive stars. The companion, likely a hot, blue-white star 1.5 times the mass of our sun just four times the Earth-Sun distance.
Astronomers are now eagerly anticipating November 2027, when the companion will reach its furthest separation, providing the clearest view yet of this extraordinary stellar pair.
SMRTR provides this summary for quick context. The original article belongs to Interesting Engineering.
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