Post
The conclusion of a century-long quest 馃槻
Our VLT obtained firm evidence that Betelgeuse, a red supergiant star in the Orion constellation and one of the most famous stars in the night sky, is not alone!
1/4
馃摲 ESO/M. Montarg猫s et al. Background: N. Rissinger (skysurvey.org)
The brightness of Betelgeuse changes periodically. For decades astronomers had suspected that some of these variations could be due to a companion star orbiting around it.
Now, the VLT has captured the clearest image ever of Betelgeuse B, a faint star orbiting Betelgeuse.
2/4
馃摲 ESO/M. Montarg猫s et al.
While there were indications for this companion's existence, including a possible direct detection with the Gemini North Telescope, this is the strongest evidence yet for Betelgeuse B.
The new observations also revealed that Betelgeuse B has two to three times the mass of the Sun.
3/4
馃摲 ESO/Digitized Sky Survey 2. Acknowledgment: Davide De Martin.
The potential detection of Betelgeuse B will prompt astronomers to investigate how the companion could affect Betelgeuse's anticipated supernova explosion.
Read more: https://www.eso.org/public/news/eso2611/
4/4
A minimalist social node dedicated to high-fidelity exchange and digital autonomy. CoreSignal strips away the noise of the modern web to provide a clean, functional space for meaningful connection within the Fediverse
